


The Dangers of Silas University

by peoplelikegrapes



Category: Carmilla (Web Series), Carmilla - All Media Types, Carmilla - J. Sheridan Le Fanu
Genre: Amputee!Danny, Deaf!Carmilla, F/F, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Journalist!Laura, OT3, Other, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, disabled!danny
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-07-02
Updated: 2015-07-18
Packaged: 2018-04-07 08:45:11
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 31,725
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4256928
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/peoplelikegrapes/pseuds/peoplelikegrapes
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Laura is excited to have a fresh start at Silas University where she'll be majoring in journalism. Things quickly take a turn when unexplainable events start happening around campus. When Laura meets the mysterious Danny and Carmilla things at the University seem way more strange than she bargained for.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. New Beginnings and Frat Boys

College was going to be an amazing experience, even if the nearest supermarket was eight miles away from campus. At least, that's what Laura kept telling herself as she packed the rest of her belongings into a suitcase. She never thought moving into a dorm room could be such a stressful experience. It felt like all she did the past 4 weeks was shop at target and make lists that never seemed to end. Every time she crossed something off she ended up remembering another important supply and adding it to the bottom of the page. A never ending cycle of money being spent. The bed sheets and other small pieces of furniture had already been driven up to Silas University the week prior because there wasn't enough room in the Subaru for everything. Now, it was up to Laura to remember the rest of the essentials that kept a human alive during their day to day lives. It was easier said than done. Living such a sheltered childhood had really made this way more complicated than it should have been. 

Despite all of this, Laura never felt more ready to start her new adventure as a full fledged college student. Her dad definitely wasn't as excited as he watched her make her way down the steps with another fully packed suitcase. The carpet made the wheels on the bag roll stiffly as she struggled to lift it one step at a time. Mr. Hollis just shook his head and moved forward, away from the opened front door of their house.

“Honey, please let me help you with that. You might pull a muscle or something and won't be able to enjoy your first day at Silas.” He stated, moving up a few of the steps and stopping her from continuing any further. Laura rolled her eyes, but allowed him to grab the purple bag from her tired arm and watched as he easily carried it down the rest of the way. “Is that the last of the bags?” He asked, while dragging the bag towards the front door.

“Yeah, everything is officially packed, at least I hope it is.” Laura answered, ignoring the urge to reach into her back pocket to check one of the many lists she had made. She instead made her way down the rest of the steps as her dad pulled the last bag outside to the driveway. The car's trunk was already full so they had started to pile things into the back seat. Mr. Hollis didn't like the idea of all that loose stuff being around while they drove to the distant University, but there was nothing her could do. He cringed as he threw the last bag in and caused a mini avalanche to happen. Instead of causing himself more anxiety he just closed the car door and turned back around to face Laura.

“Well, it seems about time to start driving up there. We have to be there by three for your orientation and it's already eleven o'clock. Are you ready to go?” Even though he was smiling as he spoke Laura knew her dad was freaking out on the inside. It was only a matter of time before he started asking her irrational questions and telling her to call home every night before bed. Hopefully they could have a peaceful road trip and the chaos wouldn't start until they arrived at the campus.

“I'm ready for this.” She got into the passenger seat and let out a shaky breathe before closing the door, her dad wasn't the only one with nerves. Once he got in the car he glanced over at Laura and she immediately knew to put her seat belt on. He did the same and slowly backed out of the driveway. It was going to be a long four hours to Silas.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

If Laura's phone didn't have a built in gps they would've ended up driving right by the secluded location of the school. Even though they had both been up to the campus more than once it still felt like a maze of trees once you turned off the main road. The campus itself was big, though, once you caught sight of it through the tree line you didn't want to look away. Ever since Laura first saw pictures of it on the computer when searching for colleges it had fascinated her. All the buildings were built with the architecture theme of castles and the Victorian era combined. It was old, too. Really old. Plenty of construction and restoration had been done, but the original buildings on the property still stood tall. There wasn't much about the history on the school website, just that it was purchased in 1851 by some rich family that lived in the area. Still, the campus was beautiful and had a lot of characteristics that Laura was looking for. There was nice dorms, clubs to join, a wide variety of journalism classes, and free wifi. Everything that could make her college experience perfect and hopefully not too stressful. 

“Wow, every time we come up here it feels like the first time. It really is secluded, which I guess is a good thing in the long run. You won't get caught up with any people from outside the campus.” Mr. Hollis observed, as he drove carefully up the winding road to the school grounds. From where they were Laura could see the top of one of the many towers peaking over the trees. She had to admit that it looked a little ominous, even by her standards. It took a lot to scare her. The drive getting here had been fine until about two hours in when Mr. Hollis had fully realized that he'd be dropping his daughter off and she wouldn't be coming home with him. Then the ranting about not getting caught up in any sorority vandalism and any other college criminal acts he could come up with. Laura did her best to reassure him that everything would be okay and that she would carry her bear spray at all times. It took almost another thirty minutes before he finally decided to calm back down. 

“Once we reach the top of this hill we're suppose to take a left and pull into the parking-lot marked for incoming freshman. According to the e-mail they sent me they'll be shuttle buses that will take us, and the rest of my bags, to campus.” Laura explained, hoping her dad wouldn't go off into another rampage about safety tips he'd read online. She knew the closer they got to campus the higher his blood pressure was going to rise.

“I'm glad they have this so organized. The surrounding area here is so gigantic it'd probably be incredibly easy to get lost in this forestry.” He said, while making the left Laura had told him about. “Speaking of, I don't think I want you leaving the campus at all, even if there is no outside towns.” As they continued along the dirt path Laura looked out the window and figured her dad was right for once. There really was no point in going off campus, unless a shuttle bus was taking her somewhere. 

“Whatever you say, dad. I promise I'm gonna be just fine here, you don't have to worry.” As she was reassuring her dad for the hundredth time they pulled up in front of a crowded parking-lot. There was a lot of people and luggage everywhere, they were definitely in the right area. The shuttle buses were already in motion bringing things to and from the main campus grounds. It seemed a bit hectic and Laura felt even more excitement than before. Her dad pulled the car into the wide entrance of the lot and drove down a few spaces, avoiding all the people walking around. He found a spot near one of the larger buses and turned off the engine, looking over to Laura.

“Showtime, kid.” Laura smiled at the remark. He had been saying that to her since she was a little girl and it was comforting to hear. They both got out of the car and Mr. Hollis opened the trunk while Laura went for the back seat baggage. It took awhile to actually pull everything out and place it on the ground in a somewhat orderly fashion. Everyone else seemed to be struggling, too. There was everything from plates being broken to a mini fridge being dragged roughly over the asphalt. Laura was glad she wasn't the only one looking like a lost puppy in unknown territory. Once they managed to somehow grab a hold of every bag they wheeled them over to the nearest shuttle bus. A tall guy wearing some type of fraternity shirt smiled at them as they approached the loading area. 

“Hey, I'm Kirsch.” He stated, with a dopey smile on his face. “It's mine, and my fraternity’s, duty to load these bags and protect the new freshman hotties.” Laura stared at him and hoped her dad wouldn't freak out on this innocent idiot. Mr. Hollis glared for a few seconds before shaking his head and shoving the bags in Kirsch's direction. It looked like he was about to say something until Laura put her hand on his shoulder.

“Um, thanks, we're gonna go grab a seat before it gets too filled up.” Laura quickly snatched her dad to pull him away before any confrontation could happen. She rolled her eyes when she heard a distant 'see you around' from behind her. They both got on the bus and sat down next to each other on the padded seats. It was pretty crowded already and Laura wondered if any of these students would become her future friends. She hoped she could find people who she got along with well. College wouldn't be very fun if she ended up eating lunch by herself everyday.

“Boys like that are the reason I worry about you away at University.” Mr. Hollis mumbled distractedly while searching for a non existent seat belt. Laura guessed that this thing didn't even go passed fifteen miles per hour. There really was no need for seat belts.

“Dad, you're forgetting that fact the boys really aren't my thing.” He gave up looking for any seat restraints and glanced over to her. 

“I know, thank god for that, but boys can still take advantage of you. You know that.” Laura nodded, figuring it was best not to argue with him right now. Kirsch seemed harmless as he boarded the back of the shuttle after loading all the bags. The bus started moving after a minute or two and Laura watched as the forest around them passed by slowly. She was right in thinking that this thing couldn't go faster than fifteen, it felt like they weren’t even going ten. Mr. Hollis opted to look around at the other passengers instead of the passing forestry. Laura figured he was looking for anybody that seemed suspicious so he could tell her to steer clear of them. Luckily, everyone riding looked harmless and happy to be starting at college. 

The trees started to clear out after about ten minutes of bumpy terrain and the campus entrance came into view. It was as pretty and overwhelming as she remembered it. Once they drove through the entrance it was a short journey to where the other shuttle buses were parked. They stopped in front of the main building where other students stood off to the side watching or helping out. Laura picked out more guys wearing the same fraternity shirt as Kirsch carrying around peoples' luggage. She hoped they were smart enough to read the tags and actually take the belongings to the right dorm rooms. It would suck if her tooth brush ended up somewhere on the other side of campus. While Laura worried about her dorm provisions Kirsch made his way to the front of the bus to grab the intercom. 

“Okay dudes and ladies, welcome to your new home at Silas University! As you can see there are people over by the main hall ready to take you to your assigned dorm rooms. Don't worry about your belongings, a fellow member of the Zetas will bring it to your room as soon as they can. This is the part where you say goodbye to your parents and let the shuttle bus drive them away from you forever.” Laura sighed at Kirsch's inability to say anything without making her dad even more stressed out. “Also, just a side note, the Zetas are throwing a 'welcome back' party on Friday and you're all invited.” Yup, she needed to get her dad away from this frat boy before he had a heart attack or decided to go after him with pepper spray. Kirsch made his way off the bus after the address and everyone followed behind him. Laura was happy they had finally made it on to the campus, but there was still so much confusion happening around them.

Everyone was looking for someone to take them to their dorm rooms or someone to talk to so they weren't alone in the crowd. People were also tearfully saying goodbye to their parents and watching as they got back onto the buses without them. Laura hoped she could hold it together long enough to not turn into a blubbering mess. It was hard to do when she turned towards her dad and saw him ringing his hands together nervously. His hair was graying, but he still looked like the same man the had raised her for nineteen years of her life. 

“Well, dad, this looks like goodbye. For now, at least. I know I'll see you during Christmas and any other holiday that I can come visit you.” He nodded and immediately reached out to give her a hug. Laura sighed shakily once they pulled away from each other.

“Remember to stay safe and give me a call tonight after you're all settled into your room. Also, remember to keep the bear spray under your bed, it's the best place for it.” Laura smiled and reached out to squeeze his arm in reassurance. “I'm gonna miss you.” It was hard to not let a tear or to fall after that statement.

“I'll miss you, too. I promise I'll call as soon as I get a chance and I'll tell you all about my day and what Betty's like.” Laura hoped she would be able to tell her dad good things about her roommate, Betty, she didn't really know what to expect the girl to be like. After a few more minutes of hugging Laura watched as her dad boarded the shuttle bus to be taken back to the car. Unfortunately, Kirsch got back on it as well, probably to load more bags and terrorize more parents along with their incoming freshman. Laura waited until the rest of the bags were unloaded and saw her dad shuttled away from her before turning around. She was officially on her own as other people from the crowd bumped into her unmoving form. It took a couple seconds to figure out where she was meant to go until spotting a sign with her floor number written on it. She made her way over to the small crowd standing around the curly redhead holding up the sign like her life depended on it. Next to her stood another redhead who looked excited about all the new faces. After standing around for a few minutes the redhead lowered her sign and smiled at everyone in front of her. Laura thought the girl looked way to tense for someone who was only a college student.

“Hello everyone, I'm Perry your floor don here at Silas. I'll be walking you to your dorm rooms and if you have any questions feel free to ask me or my friend, Lafontaine. They can help you if you need any type of assistance with your luggage or food items.” Laura was surprised that the two of them were friends because from first glance they seemed a bit polar opposite from each other. She knew better than to judge a book by its cover though. “Let's continue, shall we?” Everyone followed the familiar path to their dorm building and piled up the steps to their floor. Laura watched as everyone made their way into the rooms around her and decided to do the same. She made her way to the far end of the hall and experimentally jiggled the door handle. It was already unlocked and she jumped a bit when she opened the door to find a blonde girl, Betty, smiling at her.

“There you are, I was waiting for you to finally show up! Did you get driven in by Kirsch, too? He is so freaking hot.” Laura really wasn't surprised by Betty's eccentric attitude. From the conversations they had on Facebook Laura could tell her roommate was definitely a party girl. A friendly party girl, though, cause she was already trying to get Laura to come to a party with her before they had even met. 

“He did, Kirsch isn't really my type, but I'm sure he would love it if you went to that party his fraternity is throwing.” Laura said, making her way into the room after Betty gestured her to come in. The blonde girl smiled and clapped her hands together excitedly.

“Yes, we can definitely go together! It'll be super fun.” Laura nodded, not wanting to tell her roommate that partying really wasn't her thing. It would be cool to attend anyway to get a feel of what the full college experience felt like. She just hoped Betty didn't try and turn her into a party animal by the end of the semester. “This year is gonna be great.” Betty stated as an after thought, while she continued to unpack her luggage that had already been brought up. Laura sat down on her bed and looked around at the room she would be staying for the next four years. It really was going to be great.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Carmilla watched out the window as the new freshman excitedly made their way around campus with the older students guiding them. She couldn't understand why they would choose a school like this, it was old and extremely boring looking. Still, every year more and more people wasted thousands of dollars to live here for the next few years of their short lives. 

“Would you stop brooding by the window. Anyone who looks up here is gonna end up having a heart attack.” Carmilla looked over to Danny who had walked into the room a few seconds prior. She figured the tall redhead was getting antsy from being cooped up in the mansion all day. Both of them had decided to stay inside instead of walking around while all the new students were wandering around the campus. It was for the best, they didn't really blend in most of the time. “Let's go for a walk in the woods or something. Most of the freshman are to busy moving in to be exploring out there. I can't sit around here any longer.” Carmilla sighed, but stood up from her spot on the windowsill and shrugged lightly.

“Fine, if we must.” She said and ran a hand through her tousled black hair. Danny didn't reply and turned to make her way towards the steps for a head start down them. It took her a bit longer than usual because of the prosthetics and she wasn't in the mood to hear Carmilla whining about her being slow today. The vampire stayed quiet behind her, even though she had caught up quickly. When they reached the bottom of the steps Danny felt a awareness of uncomfortableness. Which usually happened anytime she struggled with something because of her legs, or lack of. Carmilla sensed what was happening and nodded her head in the direction of the front door.

“Come on, let's get you out of that head of yours.” Danny smiled gratefully and let Carmilla lead the way for them. “Your brain might be suffocating because of how tall you are. There's no air in space, you know.” The vampire added, causing Danny to roll her eyes. Carmilla Karnstein's specialty was ruining sentimental moments after all.


	2. Survival Tips and Full Moons

Laura was settling in to her new surroundings nicely. She had only been living on campus for three days, but today had been her first day of actual classes. The twenty-four hour period had went surprisingly well and she only managed to get herself lost twice on her way to class. It was only her first year so the only classes she was really taking so far was her basic studies, but the lively professors made made the material less dull. College was also a lot different than living at home and going to high school. No one was around to tell her right from wrong or to clean up her room when it got messy. Of course, that didn't stop her from cleaning up her messes because living in such a small place made a little clutter seem like a huge mess. Her roommate didn't seem to agree on that, though. Betty's side of the room always had some type of clothes or books strewn around. She would rather sit on her bed and listen to music than clean anything up. Which is exactly what she was doing right now as Laura organized her notebooks from today's classes. At least she used headphones.

The was a knock on the door not long after Laura had put her notes back into her schoolbag. Betty was to busy listening to music to hear it so Laura stood up to answer the door instead. When the blonde noticed her she made a motion saying to pull out her ear-buds. Laura pulled the door open when she knew the other girl could now actually hear what was going on. Lafontaine was smiling at her and holding an old book in front of their face before Laura could even say hello. She could barley move to the side before the red head made her way into the dorm. Of course, Perry was there too, standing behind them looking annoyed.

“Lafontaine, at least say hello before barging into people's dorm rooms. Hello, dear.” Perry scolded and addressed Betty who was looking at both of them with a bored expression. If it wasn't about alcohol or dancing Betty really wasn't interested.

“Sorry, but I gotta show her what I found in the library this morning.” Laf answered, while Laura closed the door behind the three of them. Since her room was positioned closest to Perry and Laf's dorm she became quick friends with both of them. It was a bit alarming at first because of Perry's high strung-ness and Lafontaine's excitable-ness. Laura had trouble keeping up with two people who were complete opposites at some things and extremely similar in other spots.

“It's okay, Perry, you guys are my friends now so you can come and visit whenever.” Perry smiled at Laura's kind words and nodded her head. “Now, tell me all about what you found in the library.” Laf handed over the book from earlier and Laura cringed at how dusty it felt.

“You mentioned that you wanted to know more about the history of Silas. So, I went to the library, did a little digging, and found this book. I was actually surprised at how hard it is to find any info on this place.” Laura looked down at the worn out book and flipped it over. Surprisingly, there was no title or anything on it. 

“Weird, there's no markings on the front or back.” Betty had put her headphones back in, while Laura began to carefully flip through the pages. The ink was still readable despite the horrible condition the pages were in.

“I noticed that, too, it's probably because the book is so old. It's not even really about the history of the University, just information about the surrounding towns. Chapter nine is when they actually talk a little about the campus being built and such.” Laura smiled and made a mental note to remember what Laf said so she didn't have to flip through everything later on.

“Thanks, Laf, I've been so busy getting settled I really haven't even had a chance to go into the library yet. Since I'm settled in now maybe I can join a club or something like that.” Perry seemed to brighten at the mention of extracurricular activities.

“A club sounds like a great idea to really get the full college experience. There's all types of different themed clubs, I could get you a pamphlet if you want. If you're into athletics you could also join the Summer Society. They're very sweet girls and set up a lot of fundraisers around campus for the school and other charities.” Laf smiled lightly at Perry's rant and Laura nodded her head a little stunned at the infomercial she had just received. 

“I'm definitely not an athletic person, but I would appreciate a pamphlet to get an idea of what this school has to offer. Betty really isn't much help in that department unless it has to do with parties or boys.” Perry nodded and grabbed a hold of Lafontaine's shirt sleeve dragging them towards the door. 

“It was lovely seeing you, Laura. Sorry to say we have to go now and attend a meeting in the north dining hall.” Laura was glad she hadn't decided to be a floor don because it seemed like way to much work and stress. 

“Yeah, the alchemy club set off a smoke bomb yesterday and almost gassed someone to death. It was pretty brutal.” Laf added and didn't even seem a bit fazed by the thought of someone almost being accidentally murdered. Laura was glade she chose these two people as her friends.

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There was always something breaking in the mansion. It was either because the place was old and unstable or because of the two supernatural creatures inhabiting it. Carmilla wouldn't hesitate to punch a hole through the wall if she got pissed off or was experiencing an episode. Danny was usually the calmer one, but she had her moments of destruction, too. The girl forgot her own strength sometimes and ended up ruining a perfectly good toaster or railing. It was their home, nonetheless, and where they spent most of their time. Luckily, Carmilla was able to move them in here because the old dean use to be her 'mom'. She had since been replaced by someone else.

“Xena, please change the channel. I don't think I can listen to this guy talk about drinking his own piss to survive any longer. Why doesn't he just pretend to do it and ask one of the cameramen for water instead?” Danny ignored Carmilla's question and lowered the volume on the old TV set. The living room was the only place in the mansion that had a TV that actually had color built into it.

“Why don't you go read your book in a different room if you don't want to hear it. Or better yet, just take out your hearing aids. Boom, instant silence.” Carmilla closed her book and pulled herself from the couch into a sitting position. 

“Shut up, you know I don't like not being able to hear anything at all.” Danny did know this, she just liked hearing Carmilla admit to it sometimes. “Besides, I'm bored of reading anyway.” She finished, throwing the book carelessly onto the empty blue cushion next to her. Danny sat across from her in one of the smaller chairs that reclined when you pull the lever. It was unusual for them to ever sit next to each other on the couch, or any other furniture for that matter. 

“You're always bored. Why don't you go fight a bear or something out in the forest? Vampires love that crap.” Danny sassed. Carmilla shifted to look at her in irritation. They usually talked to each other with a lot of sarcasm, but today felt different. Carmilla could tell something was up with Danny.

“For starters, there's no bears roaming around outside of a college campus. Also, what's the point in killing it? I'm not gonna drink it's blood like those idiots in Twilight.” Danny shrugged and lowered herself farther back into the recliner. The black haired girl was shocked when a snide remark didn't come flying back at her. “What's up with you today?” Besides the background noise coming from the TV the room went silent. It stayed like this until the episode on TV ended and the theme song for another one started up.

“The full moon is coming up on Friday and the Summer Society decided to go on a hunt that night since the Zetas are throwing a party. They keep asking me to go.” After the incident Danny had quit being a member of the society. It's basically how she ended up living here with Carmilla instead of with them. The other girls understood completely, but still tried to involve her in certain traditions. Danny never went.

“You should go this time. All you have to do is throw sharp objects at poor innocent animals. Doesn't even require you to be in wolf form at all. Or you could sit around here with me and watch a man drink his own urine.” Usually when the other girls went hunting they ran around in their wolf forms because full moons made them pretty restless. Carmilla hoped that if Danny did decide to go they would choose to use their spears instead of claws. It was basically impossible for Danny to walk anywhere in wolf form because when she changed her two back legs were missing. In human form the prosthetics helped, which was better than nothing.

“Nah, I'll just hold them back and they won't want to turn into wolves around me. I don't feel like going just so they can throw me a pity party.” Danny finished, turning back to the TV to silently say the conversation was over. “Besides, he doesn't always drink his pee, sometimes he just sucks the nutrients out of bugs.” Carmilla snickered despite herself and stood to go get herself a bag of blood from the kitchen.

“Looks like me and him aren't so different after all. He drinks bug juice and I drink human juice.” Danny just rolled her eyes and turned the TV volume back up.

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Later that night Laura was sat on her bed with a cup of hot coco. Betty had left about an hour ago, saying she was going to meet up with some people from her class. She hadn't seen Lafontaine or Perry since she had talked to them earlier, which wasn't surprising because they were kind of a package deal. After watching a few episodes of Doctor Who on her laptop she had gotten bored and started looking around the dorm for something to do. It wasn't like she could just go wandering around the campus at this hour and she was already in her pajamas. She stopped when her eyes caught sight of the book Lafontaine had given her. After pulling it off the top of the stack on her shelf, she flipped through it until she got to chapter nine. The title of the chapter just said 'Silas'. Laura began reading through it and hoped the information wasn't too boring.

Far off from any of the towns in Styria there was a plot of land that had been de-forested a few years earlier. It was out in the wilderness so the land developers figured someone who wanted to be secluded would buy it. In 1851 a family of royalty, the Karnsteins, bought the property and began building various buildings on it. 

Laura began to jump ahead a few pages, skipping most of the information about the various buildings on the land. The book didn't even mention what the buildings main uses where when they were first built. Also, it only briefly mentioned the Karnstein's again once even though they owned the property.

As the University began to grow in popularity the Karnstein family only gained more wealth. There family ran a lot of the higher positions and stayed very involved with the school up until the 20th century.

After reading some more random facts about the architecture Laura sighed and closed the book. Between old books and Google searches this University really was a mystery. Before Laura could grab her laptop and go back to watching Doctor Who the door opened and Betty came walking in. She seemed to be in a good mood as she sat down on her bed and reached down to take off her shoes.

“Hey, Lar, the people at this school are great. You should really come hangout with us next time.” Laura smiled and thought that she should get out once and awhile. It beat watching Netflix by herself and calling her dad to reassure him that everything was going well for her.

“Sure, sounds like fun.” Betty seemed satisfied with that answer as she laid down on her bed, not bothering to put pajamas on.


	3. Shower Mold and Loud Noises

It was impossible to focus on homework when your roommate was running around like a chicken with it's head cut off. The Zetas' party was tonight and Betty didn't even seem a bit exhausted from attending her first full week of classes. There was clothes laying all over the room as the blonde changed from outfit to outfit. Laura had given up trying to do math equations and focused on telling Betty if her outfit looked good or not. Saturday she was free of any classes anyway so there was always time to get in done sometime tomorrow. As Betty put on yet another mini skirt she turned towards Laura with a hopeful expression.

“How about this?” Laura smiled lightly and gave the girl a quick thumbs up.

“You look fine and you looked good in the fifty other outfits you tried on, too. Don't worry so much. I'm sure you'll be a hit at the party.” Betty smiled and smoothed down the nonexistent wrinkles in her crop top. Laura hoped the other Zetas were a little more polite than Kirsch, or Betty would be getting bad pickup lines all night. Which, come to think of it she might not actually mind that happening to much.

“I just wish you were coming with me. We could be a dynamic duo at this party and get all the hot fraternity boys. Well...for you sorority girls, but you get my point.” The blonde really was a sweet person and Laura was happy that she got her as a roommate. Perry once mentioned that Lafontaine kept jars with 'specimens' around their shared dorm. It was a bit unconventional.

“I know, I'm sorry, I just completely forgot all about it when Laf and Perry asked me to hangout. But don't fear there will be plenty more parties where I can come and be your wing-women.” Laura reasoned, hoping the other girl didn't take the wing-women comment too seriously. The journalist major didn't know that first thing about flirting with guys, especially frat boys. When the redhead duo asked her to spend Friday night with them doing god knows what she didn't think twice about say yes. Organization wasn't her strong suit when making plans with people and remembering them.

“I'll hold you to that promise. Right now, though, it's time for me to get going. I'm meeting some friends by the library and then we're gonna show up fashionably late.” Betty said and looked to make sure her makeup was okay in the mirror one last time. Once Betty left Laura planned to text the other two to come over. She felt that was better than having the dorm be overcrowded when Betty performed her impromptu fashion show. “See you tonight and don't have to much fun without me.” Laura waved as she watched Betty finally exit the dorm and she probably wouldn't see her again until late when she stumbled in drunk. As soon as the door closed Laura sent out a text to Laf telling them it was okay to com over now. It didn't even feel like a minute had passed before the door swung loudly open, making Laura jump in surprise.

“Did you see that super weird fungus growing in the last shower stall? I noticed it this morning and I'm tempted to take some samples of it.” Laf asked, as Perry and them walked into the room unannounced. Perry at least had the curiosity to close then door behind her. The past week she had grown closer to the two people in front of her and was pretty used to the strange questions. Also, the not knocking and just entering instead. It was all starting to feel very common in her everyday life at Silas.

“Thankfully, no, but please inform me if you find out anything important. Like, that it's poisonous.” Laf nodded and Perry just gave them both a stern look.

“I can assure both of you that it's probably just common mold. Someone will eventually come around and clean up the mess. I mentioned it at a recent meeting.” Perry stated and hoped Laf wouldn't end up poisoning themselves on accident. They're shared room was already filled with too many unknown samples of various substances found around campus. “So what do you two want to do tonight?” She added, hoping to draw attention away from the mold topic.

“We could go spy on the Summer Society. They're probably out in the forest right now throwing spears. It's tradition.” Laf suggested. Perry sighed and figured the conversation would end up going in an even worse direction. Lafontaine was always looking for ways to get into trouble or at least getting spears thrown at them. Laura looked intrigued for a second before deciding Perry would never agree, if the look on her face was anything to go by.

“Or we could just go for a nice walk around the campus and maybe take a quick peek around the outside of the forest. It's not like they're going to be throwing spears on actual school grounds. We'll be perfectly safe.” Laf looked excitedly at Laura as she finished her statement. It looked like they were going to go on a pleasant walk around campus. A pleasant walk that might include a possible spear attack. Only at Silas University was this normal.

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“You need to at least go outside for a few minutes, Danny.” It was rare that Carmilla ever used Danny's actual name instead of just one of her many nicknames for the girl. The redhead was having a bit of a breakdown at the moment and Carmilla knew it wasn't the time for jokes. The night had started off okay, but about an hour in Danny was up and pacing around the mansion like a maniac. “We don't have to go anywhere near the woods.” The vampire reasoned because she knew Danny wasn't going to want to be around any of the Summer Society girls. Who had took off into the woods and started hunting about two hours ago. In the past Carmilla would've been able to hear their howls and various noises all the way from campus. Now, the hearing aids stopped any stronger hearing. That aspect of her was pretty much human at this point.

“Fine, we can sit out in the field or something.” Danny said after pacing for another ten minutes in front of the couch. This same argument happened every full moon. The only exception this time was that the summer society had 'taken over' the forest. Usually, the other girls would be fine during the full moon because of how much they changed from wolf to human in everyday living. Danny rarely changed into her wolf form anymore so the full moon managed to have an overflowing affect on her.

“Let's go before you change your mind and decide to start clawing up the furniture.” Carmilla japed and made her way towards the door before Danny could start yelling at her. She got a pretty bad temper around this time, too. Once they were both outside Carmilla started walking to the south side of campus where the larger open fields were. During the day it was always crowded with people studying, sunbathing, and playing all types of sports. At night it was a good spot to go because there was rarely anyone around. Only the occasional student passing through or walking drunkenly home from a party. It was the perfect spot to just sit and look at the stars, which is what Carmilla did whenever the nightmares got too bad. For Danny it was just good to be out in a big open space instead of cramped up in the mansion. 

When they finally got there, at human speed because Danny really couldn't keep up, Carmilla was happy that it was empty as usual. Instead of walking farther into the field the red head sat down onto the first patch of nice grace she could find. Carmilla just went with it and sat down next to Danny, leaving a considerable distance between them. The beginning of the forest could be seen in the distance and Carmilla figured that's why they were staying away from the center of the field. It was quiet as Danny adjusted her prosthetics so they were placed in a comfortable seating position. They bent a bit on their own, but if she was going to be sitting down they had to be manually moved. It was the worst in her classes because everyone usually watched as she sat down and stood up. They tried to be secretive about it, Danny still always noticed. Carmilla thankfully never stared at her.

“So now what?” Danny asked, making Carmilla turn and look at her in annoyance.

“How should I know? Do some jumping jacks or something.” Danny looked down at the grass and started picking chunks of it out of the ground. The vampire looked up at the sky and figured she wasn't going to get any normal conversations out of Danny tonight. “You know most constellations are seasonal. There's only a few that you can see all year round.” It was a simple fact that she figured Danny already knew. The tall girl looked up at the sky and then back over to Carmilla.

“Why do you like that stars so much?” Danny asked and it was Carmilla turn to look away and start pulling at the grass.

“I guess because of the coffin and the fact that it just seems really quiet up there. The stars don't have to think they're just there to produce light in the darkness around them.” The coffin was a really dark time in Carmilla's life and added to the mental issues she had now. Neither of them really liked to talk about the things that had happened to them, especially with each other. It was all they could do to keep each other sane while living in the same house together. Just look out for each other and try not to set the other one into any emotional spirals or freakouts.

“I like the quiet sometimes, too. I can hear them out in the forest, when they howl or run in a pack. It feels like it's burning my ears sometimes.” Since Carmilla basically had human hearing she forgot that Danny still had other supernatural abilities. It was hard to remember because when you looked at Danny you wouldn't think she was anything but a human. It wasn't just because of the prosthetics. There was the faint scars, too. They're were a few on her face and a ton more on her body. Carmilla never looked too closely because she didn't want Danny to think she was scrutinizing her. It was hard enough knowing that the humans at this school didn't have as much respect and would openly stare.

“Maybe we could start our own club like a....” Carmilla's snarky comment was interrupted when she glanced over and noticed three people walking towards the field. They were farther down then them and probably wouldn't even notice the two girls sitting on the grass. Danny looked over too when she realized Carmilla wasn't going to finish her statement. “I wonder if their coming back from that stupid Zeta party. Maybe one of them will drunkenly trip.” The two supernatural creatures watched as the trio walked onto the field and seemed to be heading away from any buildings.

“They don't seem drunk and they don't look like their going home anytime soon. I recognize the curly redhead, she's in my English class and definitely doesn't seem like the drinking type.” Danny added distractedly. There was a short girl with long brownish hair that her eyes kept drifting back to. 

“Well if they're going into the woods they better hope the Summer werewolves don't try and eat them.” Danny reached out and hit Carmilla softly in her shoulder area. Just because she didn't spend a lot of time with the girls anymore doesn't mean she won't defend them. Even if it was just Carmilla being broody. 

“Werewolves don't eat people. Vampires do.” Danny didn't even think Carmilla was listening as she stared intently at the group. At this point they were halfway across the field and slowed down their walking to small steps. Danny tried to listen to their conversation, but none of them were saying anything. 

“What the hell is wrong with everyone at this school. Like, 'hell yeah it's Friday night lets go by the woods and try to find the people who throw spears at moving objects'.” Carmilla said, adding emphasis on her fake college student voice. The others out in the field had stopped and were just standing there waiting for something that wasn't going to happen. The Summer Society only turned into wolves far out into the woods to make sure no one barged in on them as furry animals. Danny continued to listen and was surprised when the redhead with shorter hair finally spoke up.

“Turns out nothing cool is happening out here. It's dead quiet.” Danny scoffed, which made Carmilla turn towards her in confusion. The talking couldn't be heard by her.

“That's a good thing, Laf. There's no need for one of us to be in danger to make it a good time.” The girl from her English class said in a stern tone of voice. Technically, they were in danger. There was a vampire and a werewolf sitting a few feet away from them and they didn't even notice.

“At least we tried.” The brownish haired girl's voice was nice. It sounded slightly like Carmilla's when the vampire was actually being decent and not throwing insults. Not because the two voices sounded the same way, but because of the calming tone. She looked over to the vampire to see her staring expectantly.

“Sorry, all they're talking about is being disappointed about not seeing the Summer Society in action.” Danny explained and Carmilla raised her eyebrow silently say that was a stupid thing to want to see. “It is pretty cool. When I first got to this school I was surprised at how athletic the older girls were. The school should really bring back the Adonis Festival.” She had gotten a little off track when defending her old society, but this school did have some crappy budget cuts.

“We should go introduce ourselves.” Carmilla stated when the three people started to make their way back to wherever they cam from. Danny just rolled her eyes and stood up slowly from her place on the grass. It was starting to hurt her back and she needed to move around a bit before she started getting fidgety again.

“Yeah right, you just want to turn into a panther and go scare them half to death. I've seen you do it before.” Carmilla shrugged her shoulders and easily stood up next to Danny. Both girls standing seemed to draw the attention of the others, but Danny did her best to ignore them. She didn't feel like dealing with any judgmental staring or the 'pity' eyes tonight.

“Don't act like you don't love when I do the panther thing. It's hysterical.” Carmilla started walking back towards the mansion with Danny in tow behind her. She knew they'd be out here again at some point in the later hours of the night. Carmilla didn't sleep barely at all during the night and Danny was gonna be up because of the full moon. Late night walks were kind of their thing, especially in the woods. All five of them were walking in the same direction even though the three were still a few feet away from them. Danny blocked out their small talk and laughter, but the one girl's voice was harder to ignore than the two gingers. It didn't stop her from trying, though.

As soon as they were all exiting the grass a loud screeching noise stopped them all in their tracks. Even Carmilla's head whipped around trying to identify the noise that came out of nowhere. It was dead quiet as they all waited to hear if it would happen again. When Carmilla was about to give up and ask what the hell it was the noise burst out louder this time. The vampire had to quickly reach up to yank out her hearing aids because the noise was making them pick up static and an unpleasant frequency. Danny looked around, but there was literally nothing in sight to see. After a few more seconds the screeching stopped and didn't seem like it was going to start up again. Danny looked down and gestured to Carmilla to put her hearing aids back in.

“What the hell was that?” Danny didn't have any type of answer for Carmilla. “That better be your Summer Society just messing around out there or something.” Danny knew immediately that it wasn't anything they were doing. She didn't even know what to make of that noise, it was like it was coming from every angle of the campus. Weird stuff was common around Silas, but that didn't seem like any old occurrence.

“Um, Hello, do you happen to know what that was?” Danny turned around to see the three people from earlier had made their way over to them. The curly haired girl stared at her expectantly, waiting for any type of explanation. Carmilla just shrugged her shoulders and reached up to adjust one of the ear pieces. The vampire really wasn't much of a people person or an 'anything' person for that matter.

“We don't really know either, sorry.” Danny said, feeling a bit bad about not having an answer for the high strung girl. Carmilla was busy sneaking glances at the only non red head in their group. Luckily, the girl seemed more preoccupied with the unidentified screeching to notice.

“That was one of the coolest things I have ever heard at this school! I wonder if anyone else heard it, it was like a dragon mixed with a blender.” Lafontaine said and was immediately slapped in the arm by an annoyed Perry. Danny and Carmilla just stared at the duo in confusion and intrigue.

“Laf, you might wanna take it easy or you're gonna give Perry a heart attack.” Laura pointed out even though Laf continued to smile brightly they calmed down a bit. “I'm Laura, by the way, and these are my friends Perry and Lafontaine.” Carmilla nodded slowly and Danny realized the girl was having the same reaction to the small girl's voice.

“I'm Danny and this is Carmilla.” Laura smiled at both of them, while Perry nodded curtly. Laura didn't stare. It was dark out, but Danny knew you'd still be able to see the prosthetics and even some of the scars. Lafontaine and Perry weren't really looking either, though, they were pretty caught up in the possibility of a dragon being blended.

“It's lovely to meet you both. Do you think we should report this to someone working on campus? I'm sure other students had to have heard it.” Carmilla seemed to snap out of what daze she was in at Perry's question. Danny assumed Carmilla thought it was something that had to do with the supernatural.

“Nah, it's probably just the Summer Society or something the Zetas' are doing at their dumb party.” Carmilla stated, trying to brush off the noise as nothing more than a bunch of college kids. Hopefully, the Summer Society wouldn't show up at any point tonight. They had definitely been able to hear the noise if the excessive howling was any indication.

“I could ask my roommate in the morning if she knew what it was. As long as she's not to drunk right now to remember what's going on in the morning. Perry you could ask one of the Summer Society members if it was them at whatever meeting you attend next.” Laura was apparently a very curious person who wouldn’t accept that it was just a weird occurrence. Danny figured that there was nothing she could do to stop them from asking questions anyway. Carmilla stared at the group in front of her and Danny knew she hated when humans tried to involve themselves in the supernatural. Her three hundred plus years as a vampire hadn't been to kind in her interaction with the living. Even if Laura and the others didn't know they were getting involved with something that was possibly dangerous.

“Maybe you should take it easy there, Nancy Drew. Don't ask so many questions because one day you're gonna find out something that you really really didn't want to know the answer to.” Carmilla clenched her fist as she lectured the poor girl in front of her, who was looking shocked. The other two red heads didn't know what to do and opted to look at anything but a very angry Carmilla. Danny figured it was time to go before any other disastrous things could happen.

“Sorry, she gets a little cranky when she's tired. We better get going.” Carmilla was already storming off before Danny could even finish her sentence. “Um, I guess I'll see you around campus.” Lafontaine was the only one to wave goodbye as Danny walked away to catch up with Carmilla. The vampire was already half way back to their dorm when she finally got close enough to talk to her.

“Carm, what the hell was that all about?” The vampire ignored Danny and continued walking. The red head decided to drop it until they got back to the mansion. On the quiet walk back Danny couldn't help it and glanced around for any sight of something unusual. That noise was still replaying in her head and it didn't help when the only other thing she could think of was Laura. The full moon was really messing with her head tonight. Once they reached the front door Carmilla swung it open and didn't bother to wait for Danny.

“Now are you gonna talk to me?” When Carmilla whipped around Danny was surprised to see the vampire was crying. Contrary to popular belief a vampire's tear ducts actually worked. It was just weird for Carmilla to be crying because she usually just got angry and smashed things instead. “What's wrong?” Carmilla just shook her head and swiped roughly at her face. 

“I don't know.” The tears were still falling as she watched Danny stare at her sadly. Somewhere between the screeching and yelling she had lost control of her emotions. Which wasn't uncommon, there was just never tears involved before.

“Let's go get you some blood from the kitchen and then watch some TV. I think there's a new episode of Man Verses Wild on tonight and in the trailer he was gonna eat bird shit.” Carmilla agreed and they both made their way to the kitchen in silence. Danny assumed the vampire was just having another breakdown, but she had never been this calm about it before. The red head really didn't know how to react in this situation. In the morning when there wasn't a full moon anymore she hoped everything would make a little more sense. Tonight was just a reminder of why they secluded themselves to this mansion in the first place.


	4. Hangovers and FBI Posters

Betty woke up the next morning with a splitting headache and people whispering around her. She hoped it was just Laura and not some guy she decided to go home with last night. It was all a blur so anything was possible really. After a few more seconds she slowly opened her eyes and groaned at the sunlight filtering into the dorm. At least she was in her bed because Laura and the other red head noticed she was awake.

“What are you guys doing? It's too early for you to be up and dressed already.” She said and was surprised at how dry her mouth felt. Also, she definitely needed some aspirin as soon as possible.

“Actually it's already one in the afternoon. I was starting to worry you were dead.” Laura joked. Betty sat up slowly as Lafontaine handed her a bottle of water from the mini fridge. “We were waiting for you to wake up because we had some questions to ask you.” Laura sat down on the bed across from her while Lafontaine leaned against the bedpost. They looked like a poster for the strangest FBI movie ever.

“What? Did I say something stupid last night and embarrass myself? Cause that's usually what happens when I get drunk.” Laura shifted and crossed her arms over chest. This didn't seem like it was going to go well at all.

“How much of last night do you remember? Specifically did you or anyone else hear an incredibly loud screeching noise around eleven o'clock?” Betty just stared at both of them in confusion for a few seconds before shrugging her shoulders.

“I honestly have no idea what you're referring to. There was loud music and yelling all night, but nothing that sounded like....screeching. Maybe it was just closer to wherever you guys were?” Laura looked up at Lafontaine excitedly and balled her hands into tiny fists. Betty just hoped she wasn't gonna have an outburst and make her hangover even worse.

“I knew it wasn't the party. It was something totally different, I just have no idea what yet.” Laura stated and stood up as more energy started coursing through her tiny body. Lafontaine stood straighter and started to head for the door.

“We gotta go talk to the Summer Society and see if they heard anything out in the woods. Perry isn't gonna do it. She's already in our dorm scrubbing the floor because of last night.” Laura nodded and stood up throwing a simple goodbye to Betty before leaving.

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It was a quiet morning in the mansion for Carmilla and Danny after the events of last night. They had both watched mindless television until the early hours of the morning. Carmilla was still silently crying for half the night, but Danny gave her space to eventually calm down. The werewolf had dowsed off sometime around four and Carmilla had clicked the TV off. She stayed in the living room with Danny and just listened to the other girl's breathing. It calmed her down enough to finally fall into an uneasy sleep of her own.

“Wake up, Xena! God, you sleep like a damn log.” Danny tried to tiredly roll away from Carmilla's voice as she shook her shoulder roughly. The recliner she was in prevented her from getting very far. “It's already the afternoon and you have class in a half an hour. Unlike me, you actually have to attend to pass.” Danny groaned and swatted the other girl away from her. Her thighs felt stiff from sleeping with the prosthetics on all night. Usually, she would pull them off before going to bed because it was just more comfortable that way.

“Alright, I'm up, please stop assaulting me now.” Carmilla went and sat back down on the couch were she had been reading a book prior. The only sound you could hear for awhile was turning pages until Danny fully woke up. She was already feeling tempted to skip her class and just go back to sleep.

“So, are we gonna talk about what happened last night?” Danny questioned with a whole lot of hesitation in her voice. It was way to early to be setting Carmilla off.

“Absolutely not.”

“Carm, you snapped on that girl and then cried for another three hours.” Danny paused and glanced over to the annoyed looking vampire. “I never saw you act like that before. I was worried.” Carmilla stood from the couch and knelt down next to the recliner by Danny's head. The red head ignored her increased heart rate and looked at the vampire expectantly.

“Listen, Paul Bunyan, I promise I'm fine. You know I have my freak-outs and then everything goes back to normal. It's just something we have to deal with.” Carmilla stood back up and patted Danny on her arm gently. “As for you, you're gonna be late to class if you don't get up soon.” It had never been diagnosed by a doctor, but Danny was positive Carmilla had post traumatic stress disorder. She never brought it up to the vampire in fear of upsetting her and making things worse, though. Danny just does her best to help Carmilla even if the vampire tries to push her away.

“The professor better be on time to class today or I' leaving.” Danny stated, finally sitting up in the recliner. Carmilla just continued to read her book.

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Laura and Lafontaine had no trouble in locating the Summer Society house. Of course, Laf already knew where it was, but the building was kind of hard to miss. There was Summer Society banners everywhere and a trident that looked like it was actually fully functional. The building itself looked like one of the most structurally sound on campus. It was huge even though it only housed a few girls in it for the entirety of the school year. Laura assumed they could both just go up and knock on the door. Someone was bound to be in there instead of at class. They walked up to the large oak doors and Laura hesitated before grabbing the door knocker. It was some type of symbol and the journalist was surprised at how heavy the thing actually was. It banged loudly against the door and Laura repeated the action two more times. They waited hopefully for someone to answer. It wasn't long until a tall African American women answered the door looking confused.

“Hi, can I help you?” Laura smiled and reached out to immediately shake the girl's hand. The other girl hesitated before shaking her hand back loosely.

“I'm Laura, and this is my friend Lafontaine. We know you guys were out in the woods last night and were wondering if you heard anything strange? Like, screeching?” The girl stared at them for a few seconds and then opened the door gesturing them to come in. Inside the house was even nicer than the outside. The front door led directly into a living room that looked like it had all new furniture put in recently. There was even a fireplace with trophies filling the shelves on the walls above it.

“You can sit down if you want to. Everyone else is out doing something, but I stayed home to catch up on some overdue homework. I'm Mel, by the way.” She watched as the other two sat down on the nearest couch and figured she'd sit across from them. It was best to be polite so they wouldn't think she was being suspicious. Most people didn't come knocking on their door to ask questions they should probably be steering clear of. “Now, you mentioned some type of noise?” Lafontaine nodded and began gesturing their hands in a tornado motion.

“Yeah, it was super loud and sounded like a dragon in a blender.” Mel raised her eyebrows and began to think the two of them were harmless.

“I can't say we heard anything out there in the forest. We were pretty far out so I'm assuming it was coming from campus. Probably the idiotic Zetas fault.” It was always best to blame strange happenings on the alchemy club or the Zetas to draw attention away from themselves.

“That's what we thought, too. I asked my roommate Betty if she remembered anything from the party and she said nothing like that was heard.” Mel nodded and was already coming up with five excuses in her head to explain things. Laura had other ideas, though. “All five of us heard it so there has to be someone else on campus who detected it.” The girl held up her hand to stop Laura from continuing and cocked her head to the side.

“I know you two were there, but who were the other three people with you?” Laura looked surprised at the question and Mel wondered if she underestimated the two of them.

“Well, our floor don, Perry, was with us for most of the night. There was also these two girls, Carmilla and Danny, they had been walking in the same direction as us. We all heard it at the same exact time and everything.” Mel froze up at the mention of Danny and Carmilla. She managed to snap out of it quickly and shrugged her shoulders.

“I'm sorry I can't help you guys out more. It just seems like some freak accident to me and was probably nothing.” Laura stood up, sensing a bit of tension in the Summer Society girl's voice. Lafontaine did the same and didn't look very convinced with what was said. “Thanks for coming around, though, it was nice having a break from my homework for awhile.” Mel added as she politely escorted them to the door and went as far as to open it for them. Laura couldn't help but feel as it they were being herded out of the building.

“Thanks for your time.” Was all Laura could manage to say as the door was basically closed in their faces. They both stared at each other for a second before confusedly walking down the steps of the porch.

“So that was like super bizarre, right?” Laf asked when they were a safe distance away from the Summer Society building. Laura nodded immediately and crossed her arms over her chest in anger.

“Everyone just keeps giving us the same stupid excuses over and over again. I mean, did you see how fast she was trying to get us out of the house?” Laura continued walking in whatever direction her frustrated feet were taking her. Laf followed behind and hoped they would end up somewhere near a food stand, they were starving. “Also, Carmilla snapping on me last night and acting like that screech wasn't incredibly freakish. It doesn't make any sense.” Laura had gotten home last night feeling bewildered by the conversation they'd had with the two girls. Both of them had seemed fairly normal until the conversation went to hell.

“I don't think they had anything to do with whatever is going on, if that's what you're getting at. I don't know if you noticed it last night, but Danny looked pretty banged up. Something must of happened to her in the past. I've never seen her around campus before, though.” Laf said, while trying to discreetly direct both of them to one of the many campus food courts. Laura was too lost in thought to notice what was going on. She had noticed Danny's legs, or lack of, and the obvious scars on her arms and face. The girl still looked gorgeous, though, and Laura had trouble trying not to stare at both of them. She briefly wondered if it was because of a car accident and thought of what happened to her mom. The women had been thrown through the windshield and was killed immediately when her head hit the asphalt. Her dad had raised her as a single parent after that.

“Let's just get some food and go back to your dorm to make sure Perry hasn't cleaned herself to death.” Laura reasoned, wanting to get out of her own head before she could upset herself even more. Laf looked relieved that they were finally going to get something to eat.

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When Danny arrived home two hours later she was surprised to see Mel sitting on the porch steps. As she got closer the other girl stood up and was staring at Danny impatiently. She had been sat out there ever since the two humans playing detective had left the Summer Society house earlier. It was important for her to talk to Danny now more than ever. The vampire roommate wasn't home when she knocked and was frustrated to realize the door was locked. Danny approached slowly and dropped her school bag on the ground next to her.

“Hey, Mel, I' surprised to see you here.” Mel felt a little guilty at Danny's friendly statement. The sorority needed to step up and be a better friend to Danny, even if she continued to push them away. At least the blood sucker was looking after her.

“I had some unexpected guests stop by the house today. Luckily, it was only me there. They were talking about a strange sound they heard and mentioned that you guys heard it, too.” Danny wasn't surprised that the group had been snooping around, even after Carmilla had basically snapped on Laura. “We weren't going to tell you about this because we didn't want you to worry too much. It looks like you and Carmilla are involved a bit now anyway. I can't say I'm surprised.” Mel glanced around to make sure no one was listening and looked back to Danny.

“They're just humans and it was only coincidental that we were there last night. Tell me what's going on.” Danny demanded, feeling a bit offended that the girl hadn't mentioned anything before this.

“Calm down, it's just that noise really caught us off guard last night. Recently, whenever any of us change into our wolf forms things just feel off. Like something is affecting us. I'm assuming that the noise all of us heard has something to do with it. We're gonna have some of the girls go out tonight walking around the campus to see if they can hear anything. There's not much else we can do.” Danny was really surprised. Whenever she turned into her wolf, which wasn't often, nothing felt off besides the fact she couldn't really walk. If something was going on with the campus Danny hoped her sisters could figure out what was happening.

“I'll tell Carmilla what's going on and maybe she could shed some light on the situation. We aren't the only type of supernatural creature at this school.” Mel nodded and began to walk away from her place on the wooden steps. She had to get back to the house to fill in the days events with the other girls.

“Also Danny, try and keep the prying humans in check. I don't want anyone getting hurt if something bad happens.” Mel left without another word and Danny picked up her forgotten school bag off the ground. She just wanted Carmilla to come home soon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's a question that I've wanted to ask the people who read this. Does my writing have a lot of grammar mistakes that you notice? Also, does the story seem like it was written by someone who can't write? Hahaha I know that sounds weird, but sometimes I feel like when I'm writing it's actually complete shit. I start college in the fall and I'm majoring in journalism. So I always have that little bit of worry that I'm actually illiterate and I don't even notice it. Sorry, I'm rambling.


	5. Cuddling and Babysitting

By the time Carmilla returned to the mansion the sun was going down over the horizon. She needed to restock the fridge with blood and it took her longer than usual to get it from the hospital. There had been some type of skateboarding accident and the idiot had broken his collarbone. It was a lot to handle for such a small time hospital. She walked up the steps and shifted her school bag to the side to pull her keys out of her pocket. The door flung open before she could even attempt to unlock it to reveal standing there staring angrily.

“Where the hell have you been?” Carmilla looked confused at the question and held up the sack of blood bags. It wasn't uncommon for her to take unannounced trips to and from campus.

“I was getting blood. You know that takes me awhile and it took even long this time. Some kid fell off his...” Danny interrupted Carmilla's story by dragging her the rest of the way into the house and slamming the door. 

“Mel from the Summer Society stopped by today and wanted to know why we were with the humans when we heard the screeching noise.” Carmilla raised her eyebrows in surprise. She didn't think they would actually go through with asking around after she had rudely told them to drop it. “That's not even the bad part. She said that something weird was starting to happen on campus and they all had been feeling 'off'' when in wolf form. I was never suppose to find out because they didn't want to worry me. Like I'm some five year old child that needs babysitting.” Danny finished and angrily moved farther into the mansion main room. Carmilla followed behind while discreetly leaving the sack of blood on the dining room table. Now wasn't the time to be thinking of having a quick snack. The red head gripped the chair in front of her and Carmilla worried she was going to crack it.

“You're a wolf. How do you feel whenever you turn into a giant furry beast on campus?” Carmilla already knew what the other girl's answer would be. She was never in her wolf form long enough to claw the curtains let alone sense something that no one understood. Instead of answering Danny let go of the chair to stand in front of Carmilla.

“Some of the girls are going tonight to scope the campus out and see if they can hear anything again. I wanna stay here, but turn into my wolf for awhile and see if I can pick up on anything. Or if anything else happens I'll be able to hear it.” Carmilla found it extremely difficult to say no to Danny and this time wasn't any different. Besides, if something bad was happening she didn't want it to escalate into a giant problem.

“Fine, I'll stay here with you, but if anything happens to the Summer psychos don't expect me to save them.” Danny groaned at the new nickname and opted out of defending her sisters this time.

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The trio sat in Laura's dorm room much like the previous night except now they had a lot less enthusiasm. Beside Perry, who was happy their search had come up dry. It was only a matter of time before they decided to give up completely. Betty was still attending class as the other three looked through their notes. They were trying to have a nice study session, but Laf and Laura kept interrupting the quiet with different theories. Everything from, 'a murderer who escaped from prison and killed someone', to, 'an undiscovered wild animal living in Styria's miles of forest'. Anything was possible when someone was withholding information from you. They didn't trust the Summer Society one bit.

“Ugh, I can't focus on chemistry anymore. Maybe the reason the Summer Society girl was acting so weird was because she was the one who made the noise while doing pointless homework.” Lafontaine said, while shoving the opened chemistry book away from her face. Laura let out a laugh and even Perry smiled a bit as she erased a mistake on her paper. 

“It's because you two are obsessing over nothing. You guys need to focus on school work instead of some strange sounds.” Perry suggested, knowing that her words were going in one ear and out the other. “And if the Summer Society want's to roam around at all hours of the night then so be it.” Laura looked up to Perry with a perplexed look on her face, before slamming the textbook in her lap closed. She just made a really great point without even knowing it.

“If something weird was happening they would definitely be out there again tonight. If we go stake out their house for a little bit I bet some of them leave.” Perry instantly began shaking her head at Laura's words and wished she would've never spoke up in the first place.

“Yeah, if we did a little spy work I bet it would pay off big time. Maybe we could find something out if there's more of them around.” Laf added, while reaching out to pat a frazzled Perry on the shoulder to calm her down. Looks like they were done studying for the night and were moving on to better activities.

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“Okay, you have to leave the room so I can change into my wolf form.” Carmilla rolled her eye, but exited the living room anyway. She didn't think this plan was going to work in the slightest. If anything Danny was just gonna get whiny because she couldn't run around the mansion and destroy things. The red head was sat on the couch and had calmed down considerably since being pissed off with her old society earlier. She stayed still for awhile until she was a hundred percent sure Carmilla was somewhere in another room. The prosthetics were the first thing to be taken off and then placed on the couch next to her. It always felt weird to look down and see where her legs just disappeared a little above her knee joints. Danny quickly got to work pulling the rest of her clothes off and decided to stay sitting on the couch. She would deal with Carmilla complaining about the hair left behind later on. The transformation only took a split second, but the pain in her joints still ached. It was a unusual sensation.

Her wolf form was still large even though her back legs were missing as she adjusted herself on the couch. It felt best to just sit on her back legs instead of putting pressure on them. The front paws did most of the work holding her upright. Carmilla walked in a few minutes later and scowled at the huge animal sitting on the couch cushions.

“You've been a wolf for three minutes and you're already getting hair on the sofa.” Carmilla wasn't really surprised by the way Danny's wolf looked anymore. The first time she had seen the change she was shocked at how much the wolf's fur matched the color of Danny's red hair. It was actually pretty unnatural looking and made her stand out from the other werewolves. Carmilla made her way over to the couch when Danny let out a few quiet barks to get her attention. She sat on the farthest end and ignored the urge to reach out and run her fingers through Danny's fur.

“So, does anything feel weird to you yet?” Danny shook her head and repositioned herself so she was laying down on her side. It felt good to be in wolf form, even if she wasn't able to run around. She glanced over to her prosthetic legs sitting behind her and let out a loud sigh. Carmilla saw what Danny was looking at and scooted a little more to the middle of the couch. Still keeping a short distance between them.

“Just because you have fake legs doesn't mean you're not a bad ass werewolf anymore.” Danny shifted her head to pay attention to Carmilla. They kept eye contact for a few seconds until Carmilla broke it off to look at the floor instead. “This is nice, you should do it more often. Not just because there may be some type of threat to the campus right now.” Carmilla finished, waving her hand around like she didn't really care what she was saying. Danny knew better and hesitantly lifted herself up to scoot over so she could rest her head in the vampire's lap. They both tensed up at the contact until Carmilla slowly reached out and rested her hand on top of Danny's head. It took another two minutes for her to actually start moving her hand back and forth. Danny didn't even wanna think about why the small action was sending tingles down her spine. She'd been pet before by various people, it never felt anything like this, though. It made her feel drowsy and she couldn't stop her eyes from slowly closing on their own. Carmilla relaxed farther into the sofa when she realized Danny was starting to fall asleep. 

This 'cuddling' thing was new to both of them. Usually they kept their distance from each other and avoided any physical contact. Things had been different since this semester had started and Carmilla really didn't know what to think of it. After she had got turned into a vampire it was just her following orders from her 'mother' and trying to stay sane. There really wasn't any time or need for her to be close to someone, especially a human. When her mother was finally killed it was for the best because the older vampire had become power hungry. Carmilla was all alone after that and hadn't ever had such a close relationship with someone like she had with Danny. They argued with each other constantly, but it only made the vampire grow fonder of her furry friend. She hoped that Danny felt the same way about their friendship. They only had each other after all.

Carmilla was willing to sit there all night with a sleeping Danny in her lap when there was a loud knock on the door. She had barley heard it at first because of the hearing aids, but Danny's head shot up from where it was resting. The banging continued as if someone was going to break down the door if no one answered.

“I'll get it. You stay in here and get changed back if you want. I'll keep them out of the living room for now.” The wolf grunted and moved back so Carmilla could stand up and stretch her legs. They both seemed agitated that they had to separate from each other. The touching thing had just started and they didn't want it to end so abruptly now. Carmilla made her way out of the room and to to the front door where the banging was still happening. She unlocked it and swung it open to see who was disturbing them at such a late hour. It was Mel and another Summer Society girl she didn't recognize looking at her angrily. Behind them was the three people from the previous night, including Laura. Carmilla felt herself starting to tense up already.

“Hello, Carmilla, we were just dropping by to let you know it's now your job to babysit these three.” Carmilla raised her eyebrows at Mel's pissed off tone. “They were trying to snoop around while we were out looking around campus tonight. There was a bit of an incident and these idiots would’ve gotten themselves killed.” Lafontaine and Laura looked annoyed at being caught. Perry just stared at Mel with a worried expression on her face. 

“We were only there because you lied to us and then went out to go investigate or whatever you planned to do. Now you can't deny that you heard the noise and saw the library shaking.” Laura argued and forced her way in front of the Summer Society girl who was blocking her from making a run for it. Mel crossed her arms over her chest and stared down at the smaller girl.

“Wait, the library was shaking? What the hell is she talking about?” Carmilla asked, gesturing to Laura who was now focusing her attention on the vampire. She felt squeamish under the girl's perplexed gaze. It was a stupid move on the Summer Society's part to bring them to the mansion because now they were even more involved. 

“There was the screeching, again. It's weird because every time happens nobody else on campus thinks anything of it. This time, though, a few seconds after the third screech the library started shaking like it was gonna collapse or something. We were going to go in to see what it was, but these jerks stopped us from going in.” Laura explained getting more and more flustered as her recounting of events went on. Carmilla couldn't help feel a little respect for them because they actually tried to enter a building that might have been collapsing. She didn't realize she was now just staring at Laura and not answering when Danny walked up behind her. The red head girl was back to normal human form as she looked over Carmilla's shoulder.

“Hey, I heard the whole conversation from the living room. You guys are so busy fighting with each other that you're forgetting that the freaking library was shaking. I think we should focus more on that than anything else. We're all involved now anyway and they don't seem to be going anywhere anytime soon.” Danny said while gesturing to the to the three humans in front of her. Mel just shook her head and took a few steps back from the door.

“Fine, if you wanna worry about them, then be my guessed but keep the Summer Society out of it.” Mel and the other girl walked away, leaving the others on the porch staring at each other. Carmilla rolled her eyes and went to close the door in their faces.

“Well, thanks for stopping by.” Before Carmilla could get the door fully closed Laura slammed her hand against the door. In theory the vampire could easily close the door even with the pressure from the other girl holding it. She found herself not want to and instead opening it back up again.

“You don't have to babysit us and we just wanna know what's going on. You crazy people obviously know more than we do at this point. No more secrets.” Laura was a bit weirder out when Carmilla just smirked at her and leaned against the door.

“I'm glad you think we're the crazy ones, cupcake. You three were the one who tried to run full speed into a shaking building.” Danny shifted at the nickname, even though she knew Carmilla gave nicknames to everyone. For once the nickname actually suited the person in a good way. Perry raised her arm a bit and looked like she didn't know if she should speak up or not.

“I'm their floor don so it's my job to make sure everything is in order with the students. If the Summer Society didn't stop them I promise you that I would have. I would appreciate it if you would just explain to them what you know so we can all just get back to focusing on school.” Perry seemed like she wanted no parts in this and rung her hands together nervously. The girl was definitely too tense for her age.

“I would appreciate it if you nimrods got off my porch, but we all can't have what we want can we?” Carmilla barked back trying to sound as menacing as possible. Fear was always her go to when she was trying to intimidate someone.

“Hey, don't talk to her like that! She's right, we're students here too and if something is going on then we deserve to know about it. Even if that means it's dangerous.” Laf spoke up and put their hand on Perry's arm in comfort. They'd been best friends since they were kids and both of them had always stuck up for each other growing up. The same went for the present. Danny sighed and shoved Carmilla over a bit so the others could see her better.

“We know just as much information as you guys do. I know the Summer Society lied to you because they did the same thing to us. It's better if you just let them take care of it, they're way more qualified for the job than us.” Danny didn't mean to make it sound so sad when she said it. She couldn't stop her voice from cracking when mentioning that they had lied to her, too. Those girls used to be her sisters and now they were hiding things from her. Carmilla looked back at Danny to make sure the girl wasn't about to breakdown. When she turned back to the group they were trying to look at anything but the two girls in front of them. At least they had some manners.

“It's getting pretty late. Why don't you three come by tomorrow after your classes and we can talk about whatever you think we know.” Carmilla invited, wanting to get Danny back in the house so she could get some more sleep. It was best for her when she was upset. Laura nodded, sensing the change in atmosphere and started to walk away from the door.

“We'll see you guys tomorrow.” Was the last thing she said as Carmilla slowly closed the door on the three of them. Whenever they showed up tomorrow was going to be chaotic. She didn't even know what she was planning on telling them anymore. It's not like she could keep feeding them lies.

“You feel it, too. Whenever she's around.” Danny mumbled it and Carmilla almost didn't hear as she shifted to lean her back against the door. The vampire stared up at her surprised this conversation was even being brought up right now.

“What are you talking about, Xena?” Danny ignored the nickname and looked down at the ground trying to find the right words. Carmilla waited patiently.

“You already know I'm talking about Laura, don't play dumb. That night in the field you freaked out on her and then cried for half the night. She's affecting you.” Danny finished, not really knowing where she was going with this conversation. Carmilla crossed her arms over her chest and motioned towards Danny.

“She's not affecting anything. It's just pissing both of us off because she won't stop playing Nancy Drew and leave us all alone.” Danny sighed and refused to meet Carmilla's eyes. The vampire watched as Danny gripped her left arm tightly and shifted from foot to foot. “Besides, you said you were feeling something, too, whatever the hell that means.” She added when the other girl didn't say anything. 

“It...it means something to a werewolf when they get that type of gut feeling.” Carmilla stopped breathing as she waited for Danny to elaborate. “We just know when someone is going to be important in our lives. I've only felt it once before, but I know for a fact that's what's going on. I just don't know what it means yet.” Danny ran a hand through her hair and finally looked back up to Carmilla's  
face. They stayed that way for a few seconds before Carmilla spoke up again.

“Who was the first person you got that feeling from?” Carmilla anticipated she was already guessing the answer correctly. Danny hesitated for a second before answering.

“You.” Danny stated simply and Carmilla smiled.

They both slept in the living room that night so they could stay close to each other. Danny's breathing helped Carmilla fall asleep anyway.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I took so long to update. Things got kind of hectic.


	6. Rubber Gloves and Interrogations

When Carmilla awoke the next morning she actually decided to go to her classes. After the past two nights she was in the mood for some boring professor to tell her all about a subject she was already an expert in. It would make the day go by quicker and it wasn't like she could spend the day with Danny. She also had classes scattered around campus for most of the day. Carmilla glanced over to the recliner and wasn't surprised when Danny was already up. The girl was probably in the kitchen making herself a late breakfast because she couldn't go without it. Werewolves ate a massive amount of food to keep up with their high metabolisms. There was always food stocked up in the fridge and cabinets with little room for anything else other than dishes. Danny ate out at the food courts a lot, too. Carmilla stood from the couch and stretched out her back muscles, before making her way into the kitchen. 

“Morning, sunshine.” Danny glanced away from the toast she was buttering as Carmilla greeted her. She was surprised to see the vampire up this early because usually Carmilla slept like the dead whenever the sun was around.

“You're up surprisingly early. Are you hungry or something?” Danny questioned as Carmilla made herself comfortable against a section of the marble counter top. The vampire just shrugged her shoulders, not wanting to admit that it had anything to do with the people paying them a visit tonight. Danny tried haphazardly to flip the omelet she was making into the air and manged to land it half way perfect. She hoped the girl wouldn’t accidentally burn down the kitchen one day. Danny wasn't the greatest cook in the world.

“No, I just figured I'd go to class today because there's really nothing else to do.” Carmilla said trying to sound as casual as possible. It wasn't that she was nervous to see Laura and the ginger twins who she could care less about. That whole speech Danny gave last night about feelings and people being important in your life wouldn’t leave her head. What if what the Summer Society was sensing was the same impression, but just like the 'bad' version of it. They were all on high alert for something around campus that was putting them on edge. Danny didn't really interact with them or any campus matters so maybe that's why she wasn't picking up on it. Until Laura started snooping around and set it off, in a good way. Carmilla thought she sounded crazy, though, stranger things have happened so she didn't really know what to think. 

“What time do you think they'll show up tonight?” If Carmilla was going to ignore the elephant in the room Danny was going to address it. It was just how she was, as long as it didn't have anything to do with her personally.

“Probably around six or seven. You know they're gonna be banging on that door as soon as they can get over here. They're really persistent, well, besides Perry.” The vampire actually felt a little sorry for the girl who seemed like she was always on the verge of a breakdown. She could really relate to that feeling. Lafontaine was good for her, though, and Carmilla briefly wondered if they were a 'thing' or not. It was going to be a lot of fun teasing the both of them if they weren't hooking up.

“What exactly are we going to tell them? We don't really know what's happening and at this point it's probably something supernatural. How do you explain that to someone without sounding crazy?” Danny had finished making her plate and was now sitting down in a stool next to her. Carmilla didn't really know how to answer those the questions.

“The cupcake already thinks we're crazy anyway. Let's just play it by ear and let them do most of the talking. We'll lie if we have to even if it doesn't sound believable.” Danny accepted this answer, only mildly picking up on the fact Carmilla had called Laura 'cupcake' again. She started to eat her breakfast and decided to just roll with it if shit hit the fan. Her life was a giant mess anyway and the people around her were the only things that made sense. Carmilla stayed with her for the rest of the morning until they had to part for classes.

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The chemistry class they were attending felt like it was never going to end. Laf was taking rapid notes and hanging on every word while Laura was tapping her foot impatiently. This was the the last and longest class of the day and Laura just wanted to get out of the room before her brain melted. Also, to go bother the two people living in the secluded mansion for more interesting information. When the two Summer Society girls had basically dragged them there the night prior Laura was surprised they lived in the giant mansion with just each other. The place was nice from what she could see on the outside. It looked a little more run down than the Summer Society house, but just as big. She didn't understand why they got to live in there instead of a sorority house are at least a dorm room. Betty was drowning their dorm in empty pizza boxes and dirty laundry, Laura could hardly clean it. Also Mel had some type of connection to the other girls. She had brought Laura and them to there do instead of just sending them home and telling them to stay out of things.

Laura glanced around the lecture hall at all the other student around her. Some were sleeping and others looked like they were only half paying attention. She wondered if they were all fitting in to the normal day to day college life. It had only been a few days on campus and she found herself in some weird situations. At least, she was keeping on top of her school work since her classes were not too difficult yet. Laura hoped they would stay that way until the end of the semester.

“Hello, Laura? Anybody home?” Laura snapped out of it to see Laf standing next to her and waving a hand in front of her face. They stopped when Laura finally looked up at them. 

“Sorry, I really zoned out there for a sec.” The books on her desk were quickly shoved into her school bag as she stood up eager to leave. Laf started walking down the steps and avoided bumping into any chairs.

“Yeah, for people who don't enjoy science it can get pretty lame.” Laura thought that was a bit of an understatement, but decided not to voice her opinion. Lafontaine would just go off on a rant about how important and exciting science is. When they made their way down the rest of the steps the professor stood up quickly when he saw them.

“Lafontaine, I took a look at that mold sample you gave me from the dorm shower and I must say it's a very strange substance.” He said, looking way to excited for someone talking about samples of mold. “I was wondering if you would want to stay after class for a bit and take a look at it with me. You have one of the highest marks in this class and I wanted to get a second opinion on some thing.” As soon as the words were out of his mouth Laf looked absolutely thrilled and Laura knew what was coming next. The aspiring scientist turned and looked at Laura with guilt in their eyes.

“I know we have that thing happening tonight, but I would really love it if I could stay here and check this out. Please?” Laura smiled, knowing that she wouldn't be able to say no to them. She could still bring Perry if the girl was willing to leave the dorm.

“Of course, go have fun and text me if you find out anything alarming.” Lafontaine nodded and walked off with the professor who was taking them to the lab. Laura sighed and figured it was up to her to keep up with the journalism now. She left the class and made her way across campus to knock on Perry and Laf's door. When the curly haired girl opened it she was surprised to only see Laura standing there.

“Hello, Laura, isn't Laf suppose to be with you? I thought you two had chemistry together?” Perry asked with a Windex bottle in her hand and rubber gloves on. Laura nodded and gestured her hand in a circling motion.

“Funny story, Laf stayed behind to help with some moldy science project so it look's like it's just you and me tonight. You still up to going for an indigestion? We can play bad cop, good cop and you can choose which one you wanna be.” Laura promised. Perry didn't look even a little bribed by the aspect of playing crime fighters. She was suppose to stay back at the dorm tonight anyway while Laf went with Laura instead.

“Oh dear, well if you really want me to come with you I will but I don't think I'll be much help.” Laura immediately felt guilty at Perry's hesitant words. She had been dragging the girl around from one adventure to the next for the past couple days. It looked to Laura like she would be making this investigative field trip on her own.

“It's okay, I'll just go myself and talk to them. Maybe they'll say more if we're all not piling into their home.” Perry seemed indecisive about letting Laura go alone, but she knew the girl would still be on school grounds. Also, Carmilla and Danny were harmless.

“Alright, don't hesitate to call me if you need anything.” Perry said and Laura motioned to the phone in her pack pocket as a silent agreement. The older girl closed the door to their room and Laura stood alone in the hallway. She figured the only thing to do now was make her way to the mansion before it got too late. The walk was short and Laura could feel her nerves start to pick up the closer she got the destination. It wasn't that she was scared, just really intrigued to the point she really didn't know what to expect anymore. Silas was strange. When she finally did reach the porch steps it took her a minute to gain the courage to walk up them. She knocked loudly on the door and could hear footsteps coming from inside. The door opened a Danny silently gestured her to come in. Carmilla was no where in sight.

“So, slight change of plans. Laf and Perry aren't coming tonight.” It was at that statement that Carmilla came strolling into the room.

“What a shame I was looking forward to harassing the ginger twins.” Danny just rolled her eyes and followed the vampire into the living room. Laura was surprised at how much different it looked compared to the Summer Society house. This was older and more homely looking. There was still a fireplace and TV that didn't look like they were from the eighteen hundreds.

“Just ignore her, that's what I do.” Danny stated, sitting down on the couch next to a bored looking Carmilla. “Feel free to make yourself at home.” Carmilla stared at Danny and decided to let her do most of the talking. She had a much better control on her temper and sarcasm. Laura looked around and decided to sit across from them on an older looking recliner. It was actually quite comfortable after she settled in to it.

“Thanks, um, I don't really know where to start with this...” Laura found it a lot harder to interrogate someone when she was outnumbered and alone. Carmilla slid down farther into her place on the couch and let out a groan. Danny reached out to slap her lightly on the arm in a scolding manner.

“How about you try intimidating us again cause you know how well that works.” Carmilla snarked, making Laura scrunch up her face in anger. She promised herself to not loose her temper but it was hard when this girl was always pissing her off. Danny just sat quietly instead of trying to defuse the situation. It was only going to end up making things worse.

“Listen, I don't know what your problem is and I suggest you stop taking your anger issues out on me. You're the one hiding things!” Laura spit back, her voice rising the more she spoke. Carmilla sat back up and leaned forward in her seat to give the girl a menacing stare.

“You are a naive provincial girl who understands nothing. It's time to stop searching for answers that your not going to like when you find out the truth.” Laura just crossed her arms and stared defiantly back at Carmilla.

“If you know so much about the 'truth' than that means that you're keeping things from me. Right now you're making it really hard for me to trust you when your acting like you committed a crime.” Laura flailed her arms trying to make her statement as memorable as possible. 

“Holy shit, you are such an odd person. Go be a normal college student, cupcake! Why are you so obsessed with this?” Laura seemed to completely calm down at this question. The room was silent and Danny just hoped Laura wasn't going to start crying.

“I....I really don't know.” Laura stuttered. Carmilla sat back in her seat and crossed her arms over her chest in a silent surrender. It was a sort of revelation for Laura. Her friends were off doing normal stuff right now and not even stressing about anything besides school work. While she was here arguing with an extremely attractive person with made hosting manners. She didn't know why she was just so drawn to the whole situation.

“Maybe the screech was coming from the library.” Danny blurted out, startling the two other girls in the room. “We all thought it was heard around campus, but you said the library was shaking.” Laura nodded and was confused at how the conversation had gone back to normal after all the fighting.

“Why there? Student are in there everyday and no one has mentioned anything. All that building has in it is books and a whole lot of dust.” Carmilla added and was back to her normal uninterested tone of voice. “Although, you should consider putting in a job application there as a human ladder, Xena.” Carmilla laughed at her own joke quietly.

“Shut up, Karnstein.” Danny replied. Laura's head whipped up at the name and remembered the book Laf had let her borrow. 

“Karnstein as in the royal Karnsteins, who bought this property and built Silas in the eighteen hundreds?” Carmilla raised her eyebrows and smirked at the human across from her.

“Wow, someone's been doing their research. Why do you think me and Danny get to stay in here while you have to live in a cube with windows? It helps to have family in power.” Laura looked completely shocked at this new information and couldn't wrap her head around it. Carmilla's ancestors had literally built this school from the ground up. This school that was an incredible mystery.

“So, someone from your family still works here, right?” Danny glanced over to Carmilla to make sure she wasn't going to snap on Laura again. Questions about her 'mother' and her past usually didn't blow over well. 

“My mother used to be the dean, but has since retired from the job.” Carmilla hoped that this wouldn't lead into a game twenty questions. The dean really wasn't her biological mom, it was just someone who had helped her when she was first changed. It turned out much later on that she was just being used. Carmilla didn't remember her real parents at all, it was such a long time ago and human memories tended to blur together.

“Why'd she retire?” Laura asked, getting way to comfortable in the recliner. Danny shifted in her seat and hesitantly reached out to place her hand on Carmilla's knee. It was a silent plea to stay calm and make something up. Carmilla glanced down at her hand, but made no attempt to remove it.

“Just old age. The job was pretty stressful and she just decided it was time to go.” It was a lie. Her mother had been dead for quite some time now and it had nothing to do with old age. The new dean they had hired was thankfully human.

“We still got to stay in this giant house so everything worked out in the end.” Danny added, trying to draw the attention away from anything relating to Carmilla's family. Laura looked around the room, but her eyes were eventually drawn back to Danny's hand on Carmilla's knee.

“You two live in here together all by yourselves. Have you been close friends for a long time?” This interrogation had turned in two Laura just trying to find out more about the two girls in front of her. She hadn't meant for things to go so off course.

“We met when school started and Carmilla was already staying her by herself. After I quit the Summer Society somewhere along the line I moved in here.” For the most part what Danny said was true. She just left out the details of why she actually left in the first place.

“You were a member of the Summer Society? So that's why Mel brought us here last night because when I mentioned your name she recognized it!” Laura didn't know if she should feel angry for not being told or happy that she figured it out on her own. 

“Way to go, beanstalk.” Carmilla said sarcastically. Danny didn't seem to know what to do with herself and just let out a sigh in frustration.

“Yeah, it's all in the past now, though. They don't come around and tell me information if that's what you're getting at. I don't even hang out with them anymore...I can't.” Danny gestured to her prosthetics and hoped Laura would get the point. Laura looked away sadly and tried not to show the pity in her eyes. She didn't want to make a shout out of being nice to Danny just because of her disability. The urge to asked what had happened was starting to hit her full force, but she ignored it. Carmilla put her hand over Danny's before she could talk herself out of it. It was another second until Danny turned her hand over and laced their fingers together. There was a small 'ding' in the room as Laura quickly reached for her phone out of her pocket.

“Sorry, that's probably just Laf or Perry.” Laura opened her phone and saw that there was an unopened text from Lafontaine. They wanted her to come back to the dorm to talk about the mold and whatever Laura had found out. She didn't want to leave, but figured it was for the best right now. “I should probably get going. Laf is asking me where I am and wants me to come back to the dorm.” Laura stood up from the chair and the other two girls did the same.

“Thanks for the interrogation, cupcake. It was a lot of fun.” Carmilla was just being sarcastic and didn't mean anything bad by it, Laura hoped. She started to make her way to the front door and looked over her shoulder. “We'll walk you to the door as long as you promise there's no cop cars waiting to lock up up outside.” Laura actually laughed this time she followed them to the now opened door. Maybe she was being a bit too intense with her investigative journalism.

“I promise, I'll try and lay off the twenty questions the next time I see you guys.” She then reached her hand out to both of them. “Friends?” Danny was the first to shake her hand. It was like her brain wasn't listening as she immediately reacted. Laura's hand was soft. Carmilla was more hesitant, but allowed it to happen anyway. Laura waved one last time and walked out the door while closing it behind herself. The red head turned towards the nearest wall and started banging her head lightly.

“What the hell is wrong with me?” Danny asked, slamming her head after every word. It was freaking her out the way she felt around Laura and now Carmilla, too. Like she didn't have any power over her body anymore. The vampire watched from the door and was surprised at how similar this was to last night. Danny liked to hold it together until the last possible second that guests left apparently.

“Why are you slamming your head into that ugly wall paper and talking to yourself?” Carmilla asked. Danny stopped what she was doing and was now just resting her forehead against the wall.

“I feel like I'm loosing control of everything.” Carmilla shrugged at Danny's statement.

“Maybe that's not such a bad thing.”


	7. Xbox Controllers and Giant Pits

“I can't believe Carmilla's mom use to run the school! What are the odds of that?” Lafontaine exclaimed as they continued to pace around the small dorm. After last nights events Laura was too tired to explain everything to a very eager Laf. They had come over the first thing this morning instead, which had annoyed Betty who went to get coffee. Laura was sitting on her bed still in her pajamas and bed head.

“I mean, her ancestors built this school and were really involved with it. It's not surprising that someone from their family had continued on the legacy through generations.” Laura stated and Laf finally sat down next to her on the bed. She had told Laf about how Danny use to be in the Summer Society, but promised Danny's innocence. The girl didn't seem to be lying when she said she rarely ever talked to them anymore. 

“Yeah, but everything has to be connected somehow. It just seems crazy that it wouldn't be.” Laf crossed their arms in contemplation and shook their head. “Well, if there was more information in the library then we could...” Their statement was interrupted when Betty came bursting through the door with a coffee in her hand. She looked a little frazzled and was smiling widely at the both of them.

“So, I rushed back here to tell you two some info that I know you'll love cause you're into this weird shit.” Laura ignored the insult and waited anxiously for her to continue when she paused dramatically. “The library is shaking uncontrollably right now. Like, it's literally about to topple over and they've evacuated all the kids inside. No one knows what's going on.” Laura and Laf both stared at Betty in shock before standing up at the exact same time.

“We have to go check this out!” Laura yelled as Betty moved to her bed and out of the way of the two frantic people in front of her. There was a few seconds more of momentary chaos and Betty just hoped one of them wasn't going to pass out.

“Let's go!” Perry was going to be super angry when she got out of class later and realized where her friends were. Lafontaine hoped the scolding wouldn't be too bad.

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Mel hadn't been sitting in class for more than twenty minutes before her phone buzzed in her pocket. Luckily, she had put it on silence in the beginning of class because texts usually happened. Without drawling too much attention to herself she pulled it out and opened a message from one of her Summer Society sisters.

Come quick, library is shaking again and everyone is panicking.

The message was short, but left a giant impact after she had read it. She looked around and slowly stood up, happy she was farther back in the class. This was definitely not a good thing and was probably going to end in disaster. As calmly as possible she made her way down the stairs and out the exit. Once she was free of any curious eyes on her she took off running towards the library. It felt like forever until she could see the shaking building and a large crowd in the distance. The library was shaking way worse than the night she had seen it and this time people had been inside. She hoped they had all since managed to get out without injury. When she reached the crowd she immediately began looking from anyone who was in the Summer Society. It took a minute because of all the faces and shoving happening, but she found someone.

“Karen, what is going on? Are their people still inside?” Mel questioned as soon as she was in talking distance of the girl.

“I wasn't around when it started. Someone said they heard what sounded like a bunch of fireworks going off and then the library starting shaking. Everyone's outside, but whatever this thing is, it doesn't seem like it's gonna stop anytime soon. The library was basically having it's very own earthquake. “You should probably text Danny and tell her what's happening. That idiotic human duo is bound to show up soon if they catch wind of this. They already tried to go in once before.” Mel rolled her eyes, but pulled her phone out anyway. It was probably for the best because Danny was pretty upset they hadn't mentioned anything to her the last time.

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A controller went flying across the room causing the Xbox game to freeze up and alert to a disconnected controller. Carmilla sighed when she heard it slam against the wall with a loud thud. They were going to have to get another one again, ten total had already been broken in the past.

“Good job, spaz, now were gonna have to order another controller.” Danny had the decency to look a tiny bit guilty about throwing the controller in anger. Unsurprisingly, things always got pretty intense whenever the two supernatural girls played video games against each other. No technology was safe from their super strength. While Carmilla stood to go inspect the damage to the wall Danny pulled out her phone to check her messages. It buzzed a few minutes earlier, but she was too caught up in the game to check it. Danny was dumbfounded when she realized the text was from Mel and opened it quickly.

Just wanted to let you know that the library is shaking again. The Summer Society is all here, but there's a big crowd. Nothing we can do.

“Um, Carm, we may want to head out to the library.” The vampire turned around and just looked at her in confusion. “It's shaking again and Mel sounds worried.” Danny slowly stood up from the couch and placed her phone back in her pocket. 

“They're the big bad wolves. Why can't they handle it?” Carmilla retorted while picking up the cracked and broken controller up from the floor. It was definitely destroyed. They had more important things to worry about right now, like ordering a new one. She assumed the humans would be smart enough to get themselves out safely.

“What about Laura?” Danny asked and looked a bit surprised that the words had actually left her mouth. “I mean, what if her and the other two try going in there because of all the chaos.” Carmilla would be lying if she said the small girl didn't pop into her thoughts when Danny mentioned the shaking building. She just wasn't about to voice her concerns.

“Since when are they our problem? Let the humans do something stupid and learn the hard way.” She didn't believe one word coming out of her own mouth. It was easier for her to resort to sarcasm instead of dealing with conflicting emotions. Danny just shook her head and started walking towards the front door. “Where are you going, Xena?” The front door was opened before any type of reply was yelled back.

“I'm going to the library. You can either come with me or stay here and be broody.” Danny was already down the porch steps and across the lawn when Carmilla decided to start following her. The walk was short and quiet because both girls refused to start a conversation. When your school's library was about to collapse in on it self you really didn't have time for personal talks. When they got close enough Danny could hear it before even seeing the library. At some point a low rumbling noise had started making the students watching even more freaked out. Carmilla didn't seem to be able to hear it as they approached the rapidly growing crowd.

“Geez, there is more people here than any fundraiser Silas has ever had. Who knew all it took to bring people together was a little fear and earthquake simulations. What's the plan now?” Carmilla said, scoffing as a student near by bumped into her. Danny ignored the vampire and was trying to use her height as an advantage to find Mel or anyone for that matter. After turning up unsuccessful she decided to just call her and hope for the best. The girl's number was on speed dial and took four rings until Mel picked up. Carmilla waited and moved closer to Danny in an attempted to stay away from everyone else.

“Listen, I can't talk long but some of the Summer Society girls, including me, have snuck in the back entrance to take a look around. There's literally nothing in here causing this. We think it's coming from underneath the library.” Mel's voice could barley be heard over the loud noises in the background. Danny scrunched up her face and shook her head in disarray.

“You mean like in the ground?” Carmilla was trying to listen to the conversation, but could only pick up what Danny said. 

“Yeah, the grumbling noise sounds like it's coming from below us, too. It doesn't make any sense.” Danny glanced down at Carmilla and quickly made a decision.

“Me and Carmilla are coming in.” Before Mel could even open her mouth to argue with her Danny ended the call. 

“I don't know what she said to you over the phone, but there is no way I'm going in there.” Carmilla stated, emphasizing her point by pointing towards the unstable library. It seemed to be getting worse by the second.

“They think it's coming from under the library. Come on, we have to go in there. If you don't go I'll just go by myself and I know you won't let me do that.” They stared at each other for a couple seconds and Carmilla let out an exaggerated sigh.

“And how do you suppose we get in there?” Carmilla jumped when Danny just grabbed her hand and started pulling her through the crowd. The students seemed to be having mixed emotions about what was happening. Some were clapping their hands excitedly like this was some type of movie attraction and others looked slightly terrified.

“Mel said they were able to get in through the back door. It's not like any cops are here because we're so far out in the middle of nowhere. Campus police are our only concern and they suck at their job.” Danny could remember seeing one of them do a keg stand at the Zetas' party last year. How she had ended up at that party was a whole different story for another time. Once they got behind the building it was easy to find the door and just walk right in.

“Wow, Silas, A plus on your student safety skills. I at least thought we were going to have to knock out at least one guard. I'm disappointed.” Carmilla expressed absentmindedly as she glanced around the library. It looked fine besides all the books that were now scattered all over the place. They were still falling off the shelves while Danny and Carmilla walked farther inside. There were shelves everywhere they could fit them and the room almost felt like a maze when you had to search for a book. Carmilla had used the library more often than Danny because of how many books she could blow through in a week was insane. 

“Mel, anybody, are you still in here?” Danny yelled and the response time was almost immediate. The Summer Society girls, including Mel, who were inside made their way out of the maze of shelves and into the wide open center isle. When they both walked over to meet them Carmilla noticed that Danny still hadn't let go of her hand. She wiggled it free and hoped Danny really wouldn't take notice of the gesture. The last thing Carmilla needed was to hear from the Summer Society that Danny was cozying up to a blood sucker. “It's so much louder in here than outside.” Carmilla could even hear the grumbling happening now. She had to agree that it sounded like it was coming from below them.

“It won't stop, since we've walked in here it's been getting worse and worse.” One of the other girls stated, while dodging a book falling from a nearby shelf. At some point there would be no books left on the cases. “We should probably head out. I'm just at a loss at this point.” It was at that exact moment the whole floor shifted under their feet making Danny stumble. She almost fell, but Carmilla reached out and steadied her. Everyone was suddenly on high alert and waited for any other signs of movement. It only took the floor a few seconds to do the exact same thing in the opposite direction.

“How is it possible for the floor to be shifting?” Mel could barely get her words out because the floor started going back and forth full speed. Everyone tried to keep their footing as they tried to at least stay upright. Things got worse when a few feet away from them a crack in the tile formed and only got bigger the farther it went. No one moved, in fear of causing the ground beneath them to give way and crack. The tile and concrete was very clearing falling down without any dirt support under it.

“So what are the chances that this library is built directly over a giant pit?” Carmilla asked and figured the answer was already pretty obvious. Everything felt like it was falling apart around them at a rapid pace.

“Danny and Carmilla you guys need to get out of here before this gets any worse. We'll stay behind in wolf form and try to leave at the last possible second. I wanna know what's under this place before the debris covers it up.” Mel explained, while the other Summer Society girls shifted into wolves behind her. 

“No way, I'm not letting you get yourselves killed over this! We can worry about what caused this later, right now it's important that we don't die.” Danny was so angry that she was shaking as the chaos happening around her matched her attitude. Mel stepped forward ready to drag them out herself when somewhere in the shelves yelling rang out. Carmilla and Danny both recognized the voices instantly.

“That's Danny and Lafontaine.” Danny yelled and took of running as fast as she could towards the noises. She had to weave through falling books and holes in the ground to find them. Carmilla followed behind along with some of the Summer Society girls. When she reached them she was surprised to see both of them crouched under a fallen book shelf that rested on the one ahead of it. The tile in front of them was completely gone and there was nowhere else to go besides left and right. Even through all the chaos Laura took notice of the giant wolves standing behind Danny and Carmilla.

“I cannot believe you nimrods actually came in here!” Carmilla exclaimed, drawing their attention away from the wolves. The place around them was getting worse every second they spent standing there. “Get out from under that and I'll pull you across! You're not going to be able to make it to the exit from over there!” Carmilla was yelling at this point and still couldn't even hear herself talking. The grumbling was extremely loud at this point and her hearing aids weren't fighting well against it.

“Absolutely not, there's wolves behind you!” Carmilla couldn't understand what Lafontaine was yelling and looked to Danny for guidance. The red head stepped forward and peaked over the edge of the drop in front of her. It looked like a black bottomless pit. They would most definitely die if they fell down there.

“It's okay, the wolves aren't the problem right now and they won't hurt you!” Before Danny could reassure them anymore the shelf they were under gave way and was going to fall right on top of them. Carmilla saw it coming and easily jumped across the large hole slamming her body into the shelf to knock it back. The collision caused more of the floor to fall and Carmilla shoved the shelf over one of the steep edges. Laura was staring at Carmilla as her and Laf finally got to their feet.

“Time to go, cupcake.” Carmilla mumbled before grabbing Laura and throwing her over to the other side of the pit. Danny caught her so she wouldn't go slamming into the floor face first. When she was sure Laura was okay she went for Laf and threw them over, too. They were a package deal after all. “Danny, get a head start and get them out of here! I'll be right behind you!” Danny nodded and tugged the both of them to the direction of the exit. The wolves were long gone and Carmilla wondered where they had gone to. After effortlessly jumping back over to the other side she made her into the center aisle. Mel was now in wolf form watching Danny take the two humans out the back door of the building. Carmilla walked over to her and pointed an aggravated finger in her snout.

“You better not get anyone killed and upset Danny because I swear I will go to your grave, resurrect you, and then kill you again.” Carmilla stormed away without another word and was careful to avoid the falling debris. When she made it outside everyone was scattered around the ground. Perry was now there and hugging Lafontaine like her life depended on it. She looked like she was seconds away from either killing Laf or just being happy they weren't dead. Danny was standing there and staring at Laura who was sitting on the grass. When she took notice of Carmilla she stood up quickly.

“You're not human.” Laf and Perry turned to look at Laura as she walked towards the vampire. “I don't know how to even begin to explain what I saw in there. In fact, it has no explanation because you're not human.” Laura got closer with every step and Carmilla raised her eyebrows.

“I save your life and this is the thanks I get. Wow, you really know how to charm a woman.” Laura just looked at her incredulously. Laf and Perry were still embracing each other when the library door slammed open. The wolves ran out and made a break for the forest in the distance. Luckily, the school never put up fences anywhere around campus. Mel stopped to bump Danny's hand, silently telling her to follow them.

“Come on, the place is about to collapse.” Perry was the first to start moving as she dragged Lafontaine along with her. Carmilla gave Laura one last look before walking in a different direction than the others.

“Where the hell are you going?” Danny called when she realized the vampire wasn't planning on staying with them.

“Laura's right, I'm not human, I'm a monster. A monster who probably has something to do with this.” She stated, pointing at the building which was now physically sinking into the ground.

“Carm, you're not a monster.” Danny reasoned even though the other girl was already walking away from her.

“Just get Laura away from the building, Xena. I'll meet you at the house later.” There was nothing Danny could do as she watched Carmilla disappear behind the side of the library.

“Come on.” Danny muttered sadly. Laura followed her and ignored the urge to go running after Carmilla.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was gonna update this yesterday, but I ended up on an impromptu trip to Six Flags. It was fun until I got my period in the middle of the day. Sorry for the TMI just thought I'd share my bad luck ahaha


	8. Mutated Species and Crappy Vampires

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was going to wait to update, but I'm proud of this chapter and wanted to post it.

The library was gone. Now, there was just a giant crater in it's place. The debris that had fallen into the pit couldn't even be seen because of how deep the hole was. After the rumbling had stopped all students gathered around lost interest and scattered. No one knew what to think as they made their way back to the dorms because all classes had been canceled. Carmilla had made her way up to the astronomy tower and just sat there waiting for the sun to go down. That wasn't going to happen for another few hours, but time didn't mean much to a vampire. So many years had passed that the days now just blended together in a ball of hazy memories. She couldn't remember the last time she had looked at a calender or clock. Being immortal did have it's perks, though, like when she got to see the Beatles live in concert. That was a really weird century. Being with her mother for so long caused the most damage over everything else in the past. Emotional and physical abuse was always present, even if she was a centuries old vampire it always hurt. That was the only family she had ever known besides her biological one. But there was no longer any memories of them stored in her brain. There hadn't been for a very long time.

Humans got to live a short lifetime, some shorter than others, until they finally died. In that tie they could get married, start a family, go on vacations, and so many other things that seemed amazing to a human. Carmilla never knew what those things felt like, to actually do something just for the hell of it. She had taken loads of trips around the world, but it was always because her mother was telling her to. Everything always felt extremely different for her. In the movies vampires were always either described as blood sucking demons or sparkling idiots. The directors had it so wrong. Carmilla always thought that the scariest types of monsters were the ones that you couldn't recognize if you didn't look hard enough. Laura wanted the truth and had dug hard enough to figure it out. Now, she was involved in a lot of unexplainable situations with a group of hidden monsters. Well, Danny wasn't a monster, not at all. The Summer Society were okay too when they weren't trying to take over campus with their athletic festivals. But, Danny, she was the complete and total opposite of a monster. The girl would do anything to help others and she had the injuries to prove it. Carmilla wished Danny could find something better in her life than being trapped in an old mansion with a unstable vampire. Everything was pretty messed up though, it's just the way the world works.

“Carmilla?” It hadn't been more than an hour when she heard Danny call her name. Of course the girl would leave the giant-hole-in-the-ground problem to come find her instead. The red head came around the corner and sighed when she saw Carmilla sat down against the concrete wall. “I knew you'd be up here.” This was Carmilla's thinking spot whenever she wasn't in the fields with Danny. At night the sky would fill with stars and being up here was the closet she could get to them. 

“Did you drop off the dimwit squad before coming up here? Because you know they'll be trying to climb down that pit in a matter of minutes.” The sarcasm was always present in her voice, but this tie she actually believed her own words. They would wanna know what was down there and starts trying before the Summer Society could think of a plan. Hopefully, Perry would stop them from anymore adventures for awhile.

“I left them with the Mel and the others after they had changed back to humans in the woods. Lafontaine and Perry were fine going with them, Laura not so much.” The three of them knew that the Summer Society could basically turn into giant dogs know. Thankfully, they all seemed to be in different states of distress and were preoccupied from any rapid questioning. Perry was refusing to let Laf out of her grasp and Laura was still staring at the collapsed building. 

“She's probably trying to figure out what type of mutated species I am.” Carmilla stated, as Danny made her way over to sit down next to her. She couldn't help watching Danny adjust the prosthetics in the correct positioning. Something about it was so saddening, it only made Carmilla feel worse. She was being an emotional train wreck while the girl next to her couldn't even sit down normally anymore. 

“You think you're this evil person who doesn't deserve to feel good about anything and you're wrong. You're so extremely wrong about the opinion you have of yourself.” Because of her earlier thoughts Carmilla felt ashamed of the praise Danny was now giving her. “When I started talking to you after what happened to me you made things better....easier. The Summer Society tried to be there for be, but it was hard because they just didn't understand. You did and you didn't treat me like I was going to fall apart every second.” Danny finished and Carmilla turned her head to stare up at her. Their faces were only a few inches away from each other.

“I know you have feelings for Laura.” Of all the things Danny thought would come out of Carmilla's mouth that wasn't one of them. When Carmilla saw Danny's baffled expression she elaborated. “You were telling me how wolves know when someone is going to be important in their lives. I think Laura is going to be important to you because you're experiencing feelings for her. It would be good for you with everything that's happened, past and present.” It hurt Carmilla to actually say the words she was thinking out loud. She didn't want to loose Danny, but Laura could actually help her. Better than whatever vampire-and-werewolf friendship they made. Carmilla was self destructive and knew if Danny stayed around her they would both explode.

“I really don't know what to think anymore. I felt the same feeling for you, too. Remember?” Carmilla nodded and turned away to pick at her ripped jeans. This was becoming a conversation she didn't want to have.

“That was different though, Danny. What you're feeling for Laura is something else entirely. The wolves sensed that there was something wrong and today the library fell into a giant pit. When I came into your life it was the right time, but now I'm just making things worse for you. You shouldn't have to take care of both of us. The wolves didn't ignore their senses and neither should you.” Carmilla expressed and saw Danny starting to tense up next to her.

“No, you don't get to tell me about my own emotions and what's going on inside my head. If my assumption is right and you're planning on leaving the campus then that makes you a coward.” Danny lectured, while Carmilla did everything she could to avoid any eye contact. “Something sucked the library straight into the ground today and who knows what else is gonna happen. Now is not the time to be worrying about 'feelings' and whatever other shit is making you so stupid right now.” It was a bit harsh, but Danny knew it had to be said if she was going to get through to the vampire. Carmilla pulled her knees up to her chest and held them there with her arms. It was quiet as the vampire tried to hold back the tears that were threatening to fall. Danny just sat patiently until the other girl got her emotions under control.

“Fine, I promise I'm not going anywhere.” Danny knew she was telling the truth.

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Perry wouldn't stop fussing over Lafontaine and Laura had yet to speak up from her spot on the bed. Mel and the other 'girls', or giant beasts, had walked them back to Laura's dorm about an hour ago. They refused to answer any questions about what had happened in the library, even though Laura and Lafontaine kept insisting. Mel practically had to shove the other three into the room and slam the door in their faces. She promised to give them answers later, but after what had just happened Laura didn't believe her. It was hard to even process everything and Carmilla had specifically stated she wasn't human. At this point it felt like she was almost living in a fairytale with no explanation. The library, it was suddenly gone, like there wasn’t anything there in the first place. She wanted answers, but this was certainly not what she was expecting.

“Do you need some more water, sweetie?” Perry asked Laf, pulling Laura out of her thoughts. The curly redhead had not calmed down at all since meeting up with them behind the collapsing building. Luckily, she hadn't been in there with them or she might have ended up having a heart attack.

“No, I promise I'm okay Perry. Carmilla and the others saved us before anything seriously bad could happen. It was crazy!” Lafontaine promised as they moved around the room excitedly. They were still on a bit of an adrenaline high, it was to be expected of them.

“Well, I glad they were there. Do you need anything, Laura? Some water? A hot coco?” Perry liked to cook and clean under stressful circumstances. It wouldn't be long before she started trying to scrub the bathroom with disinfectants.

“No thanks, Per. I'm fine, just a little shaken up and...confused.” Laura stated, pulling her knees up to her chest. There was wolves and Carmilla's upset face running through her mind rapidly. It was impossible to stay on one thought for too long.

“Yeah, confused is an understatement. The library is in a giant crater and the Summer Society are giant wolves! This goes beyond confusing and straight into unexplainable!” Lafontaine added, causing Perry to tense up next to them. It was quiet in the room for a split second before the yelling started.

“Why can't you just be normal! You both could have died today and all you care about is unexplainable things you thought you saw!” Perry paused. “Just...be normal!” She didn't say anything else as she stormed out of Laura's room and across the hall. Lafontaine just stared at the door before pointing at it slowly.

“Um, I'm gonna go try and calm her down. Text me if you hear anything.” Laura just nodded as her friend walked out and closed the door behind them. Hopefully, that confrontation wouldn’t end in tears.

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Mel was pissed. Both Carmilla and Danny had left her and the other girls to deal with the over curious children. It wouldn't have been so bad if they didn't just see them turn into wolves and Carmilla throwing shelves around like feathers. She stormed closer to the astronomy tower where she knew the other two girls were at. Just because Danny wasn't technically in the pack anymore didn't mean she could track her easily. The other Summer Society girls had gone back to the house to explain what happened to the others. There was nothing they could do about the pit for now because of all the attention it was still receiving. She just hoped no one would be stupid enough to get too close to it. This obviously was something powerful if it could suck a whole building out of existence.

The steps up to the top of the astronomy tower were brutal for a normal human. Mel was surprised that Danny had walked all the way up here just to go comfort the blood sucker. They did have some weird thing going on Mel just didn't really understand what. After what had happened Danny had been so depressed and the whole Summer Society house didn't really know how to respond to it. Carmilla did and it really saved Danny's life in the end. Whatever their relationship was, it was a good thing, even if Carmilla was a vampire with a bad attitude. It wasn't a surprise to her when she reached the top of the steps and saw them sitting up against the concrete next to each other. Carmilla had her head on Danny's shoulder, but lifted it as soon as Mel came into view.

“Listen, I don't know why you two thought this was a good time to go on a date and leave me with the dimwit squad.” Carmilla was happy that her nickname for the others was actually catching on. She ignored the comment about the dating thing, even though she couldn't dismiss the slight lurch in her stomach. “You need to go talk to them before they tell the whole school what they saw.” Mel finished, crossing her arms over her chest. Carmilla just sighed and stood up from her spot on the ground. So much for waiting until sunset.

“Calm down, they're freaked out and I know they're not gonna say anything. Who would believe them anyway?” As Carmilla spoke Danny struggled to get back on her feet next to her. Without even breaking her speech the vampire reached over to gently help the her up. “All they know is that they would be dead right now if we didn't save them. The only people they're gonna wanna talk to is us.” Danny brushed the dirt off the back of her pants and straightened the front of her shirt. She already knew this conversation would end with them going to Laura's dorm.

“Get this all sorted out or I will.” Mel half threatened. She would never actually hurt anybody, but she was great at scaring people into submission.

“Whatever you say, pup.” Carmilla only received a glare in return.

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Neither of them wanted to be the one to knock on Laura's door. They had been standing there for ten minutes already hoping that it would just magically open. After making the silent trip down from the astronomy tower and towards Laura's dorm, they couldn't bring themselves to knock. Once the door was opened they knew it there was going to be a million questions and a lot of explaining. It's not like they could really lie about things anymore. Carmilla sighed and finally lifted her hand to bang loudly on the door. Danny looked at her with a startled expression and she just shrugged in return. She may have been feeling a little hostile at the moment. They stayed quiet and Danny could hear someone shuffling around on the other side of the door. The clicking of the lock could be heard as the door was pulled open slowly. Laura didn't look the least bit surprised to see them standing there.

“Great, Mel sent you to give answers.” Laura said in a sarcastic tone while opening the door the rest of the way. She stepped aside and let the other two girls walk in, there was no one else in the room but them. Once Laura closed the door Carmilla immediately crossed her arms.

“So, let me get this straight. You just saw us do some unexplainable things and we're both clearly not human. And you're going to be sarcastic with us, you're braver than I thought.” Carmilla tried to sound menacing, but it didn't work when Danny was standing next to her rolling her eyes. Laura just looked between both of them and had the decency to look a little apprehensive.

“If you're not human then what are you? I want the truth.” Laura replied, getting straight to the point. If either of them was planning on murdering her it would've happened by now. She briefly wished Betty was in the room instead of in her rescheduled class. Danny shifted uncomfortably at the question, but decided to answer before Carmilla could. The vampire wasn't very gentle at breaking news to people.

“That's kind of a hard question to answer because there's a lot you don't know. But, to put is as simply as I can, Carmilla is a vampire and I'm a werewolf.” Laura just stared at them. Carmilla waited for the cupcake to process that and knew there was about to be an onslaught of questions. The girl was majoring in journalism after all.

“Um...okay...I don't know what to say. Is this the part where you murder me and suck all the blood out of my body?” Laura asked, sounding way to calm about this. Danny scoffed and Carmilla just shook her head in annoyance.

“No, you've seen way to many cheap horror movies apparently. I get my blood from the hospitals around Styria and Danny just sleeps a lot. We're dangerous, but not in this situation.” Danny made a face at Carmilla's sleeping comment, but chose to ignore it. Now was not the time to get into a bickering match.

“Oh, well, I guess you're the good guys then. And the Summer Society they're wolves too, right?” Carmilla and Danny had never heard themselves explained as 'the good guys'. It was a bit unnerving.

“Yeah, they're safe also. They just call themselves the Summer Society, but it's more of a pack.” Danny stated and Carmilla moved closer to her instinctively. “They were in the library today because they were worried people were stuck in there and wanted to see what was happening.” Luckily, no one had been trapped in there besides Laura and Lafontaine. The other students on campus seemed to be smart enough to run when they sensed danger.

“I can't believe the library is gone. Well, I didn't believe in supernatural things either a few hours ago, but things change.” Laura paused. “Carmilla, I was a bit rude back at the library and I wanted to say sorry. Also, thanks for saving me and Laf, we were stupid for going in there.” Carmilla didn't take praise well and opted to look anywhere besides Laura. Danny smiled and was already making a mental note to tease Carmilla about this later.

“It's water under the bridge, cupcake. Now, where is your two other redheaded friends at? We're suppose to be doing damage control on all three of you.” Carmilla questioned, wondering if the other two dimwits were off telling the whole campus what happened. 

“They're probably still both in their dorm. Perry was pretty freaked out that Laf almost died and has most likely band them from leaving.” Laura assured and gestured into the direction of the other two's room. Carmilla nodded and glanced around at Laura's side of the room. It was fairly clean and reminded her of something out of one of those stupid college films. Living in the mansion for so long she had forgotten how small these rooms could actually be.

“When you see them it would be best to tell them what we told you. They've seen to much already anyway. Just please make sure they won't tell anyone, it could end badly for us.” Danny added, when she realized Carmilla was distracted by her surroundings. Laura nodded once again and sat down in the chair in front of the computer's desk.

“I promise, I won't say anything about supernatural occurrences. But, I was wondering if I could start up a sort of....broadcast. You know, to fill in students as to what's going on.” Laura looked apprehensive to even suggest it, but she went against her better judgment and did it anyway. The students of Silas University deserved to know the truth, well, most of the truth.

“Absolutely not, the rest of the campus does not need to know our business. The library collapsing was enough of a problem already. What do you plan on telling people anyway, you know as much as we do.” Carmilla quickly stated in her signature annoyed tone. “Besides, if you do start a newscast your lack of self control will stop you from lying.” Laura made a did-you-just-insult-me face and stood up from her chair to stomp her foot.

“Fine, but when people start getting injured or killed don't say I didn't warn you.” Carmilla rolled her eyes at the statement and let out a sigh of indifference. Danny just wished the both of them weren't so stubborn.

“What the hell do you think is gonna happen? There's nothing they can do because they're human. Why prolong the inevitable?” Carmilla was starting to raise her voice and Danny knew it would be time to step in soon.

“If that's the way you feel then why don't you just leave the campus then. It doesn't sound like you wanna stop whatever is going on here. Some crappy vampire you are!” Laura fought back and Danny couldn't help but snort at the use of the word 'crappy'. It was like fighting with a kitten or a small child. Carmilla laughed, too, but it was more sarcastic.

“I've been around for over three hundred years and seen numerous disasters around the world. People kill, lie, steal, cheat, and whatever else they can do to save themselves in their short existences. You have only been around for nineteen years, don't try to tell me I'm 'crappy'. Okay, cupcake?” Carmilla had lowered her voice and was now saying everything in a calm tone. She wasn't actually mad at Laura, the girl just had to learn that she was going to die if she kept acting like this.

“Stop calling me that, I'm not a pastry. Look, I'm involved in this now and I'm not going anywhere, whether you like it or not. So, learn to deal with it.” Laura stated. “Besides, I think I know what might be happening.” Danny was caught off guard by the statement.

“What? There's no way you know something we don't.” Danny declared, looking to Carmilla for reassurance. 

“When the library was still standing I took some time between classes to go check it out. Lafontaine said they couldn't find anything about the school except for this book that didn't say much. I dug deeper, it took about two hours and me sneezing uncontrollably until I found something.” Laura paused and turned around to pull something out of her desk drawer. She quickly handed it over to Carmilla, who grabbed it before Danny could. It was an old black and white photo of people standing around a large pit with various shovels in they're hands. “That's definitely Silas. You can't say it isn't.” Carmilla stared at the picture in confusion and flipped it over only to find no description on the back.

“This can't be Silas, I have no memory of this. I haven't visited this school in many years, but I would know about something like this. Especially, if a library was built on it.” Carmilla was even more confused now. After she had taken care of her mother she hadn't been anywhere even close to Styria. It was best to lay low for awhile, even if that meant being alone. When she came back everything felt normal and exactly the way she left it. The library was one of the first buildings on campus to be built it wouldn't make sense for that picture to be around. Danny took the picture while the vampire was distracted and looked closely at it.

“Holy shit, that girl has an old Summer Society jacket on.” Carmilla quickly looked back to the picture at Danny's words. Laura moved forward so that they were all huddled around the picture. “There's boys in the picture, too, so I could be wrong. But, maybe this is something the Summer Society did and they didn't want a lot of evidence of it. We have old books at the house, nothing about our society was in the library. There could be more information about whatever is happening here at the house.” Danny added, knowing if they went there Mel was going to know they now had a lead. It didn't matter, but Danny was still pissed they had kept things from her in the first place.

“Then we have to go there and look! Before something else bad happens.” Laura exclaimed, taking the picture back and holding it tightly. Before she could rush out the door Carmilla put her hands up.

“I don't think we need anymore excitement until tomorrow. Tonight just worry about filling your friends in and telling them to keep their mouths shut. Laura looked like she wanted to protest, but backed down at Carmilla's stern expression.

“Fine, but first thing after my morning class tomorrow we are going to the Summer Society house.” Laura insisted and wished she didn't have a two hour class tomorrow. Carmilla shrugged and looked over at Danny, who was already looking nervous about being in her old house. It was going to be a long night for the two of them in the mansion.


	9. Human Alarms and Coffee Jitters

After a few more questions and vague answers Carmilla and Danny had left Laura's dorm. The way back to the mansion was relatively quiet and they did their best to ignore the crater when they passed it. Things between them felt strange, not in a bad way, just different. It's like everything that had happened created this weird sort of energy between them that they couldn't justify. When the mansion came into view Danny finally spoke up, not breaking her stride.

“You said earlier that you promise you're not going anywhere. Did you mean it?” Carmilla turned to look at her, thinking back to their earlier conversation a the tower. She really was debating on leaving, but knew it wasn't the right thing to do. Especially at a time like this.

“Yeah, I'm gonna stay here and help with whatever the hell is going on.” Carmilla assured. It felt weird to be promising such things and she wasn't use to people caring if she stayed or went. Danny smiled and shook her head lightly.

“What I mean is, are you going to stick around here for a few years? Specifically, next year.” Danny asked, already feeling stupid for being so needy. Carmilla seemed to catch on quickly. 

“Don't worry, Xena. It's your last year of classes. Of course I'm gonna stick around to watch you drink to much coffee and yell about math. It's especially fun around finals week.” Carmilla said it sarcastically, but she meant every word of it. Even if she thought about it sometimes there was no way she could ever just leave Danny alone. “Besides, it's my home now, too.” Carmilla added as they climbed the porch steps to the front door. Danny smiled at her and pulled out the keys to unlock the door. Once they were inside Carmilla quickly made her way to the couch and lay down exaggeratedly on it. Danny walked in after locking the door and rolled her eyes.

“Geez, you would think we saved a school bus of children by how tired you are.” It was already eleven o'clock, but for Carmilla that was way to early to be sleeping.

“Laura and her friends may as well be a bus of children.” Carmilla mumbled out because her face was squashed into a nearby pillow. Danny walked over and sat down on the recliner, looking back towards Carmilla.

“Oh please, you like them and apparently you think I like Laura a little to much.” Danny stated, not finished bringing up things from the conversation they had earlier. Carmilla picked her head up and just stared at her with an unreadable expression on her face. “What?” Danny didn't mean for it to sound so defensive.

“Danny's got a crush.” Carmilla replied in a teasing tone. Danny just glared back at her. “Danny and Laura sitting in a tree, k-i-s-s-i-n-g. First comes love then comes...”

“Shut up, stupid.” Danny snapped. Carmilla didn't look the least bit offended about getting cut off. She just sat up and smiled over at Danny with a mischievous expression.

“You know, I never took you for someone who had a thing for blondes.” The vampire continued and Danny flew up out of her seat.

“I said shut up! Laura doesn't like me and I don't like Laura. Stop trying to force me into confusing emotions, I have enough problems as it is! I don't understand why you're so freaking calm about this! I thought we...” Danny was fuming, but stopped before she said anything she was going to regret. Carmilla just looked up at her and tried to hide her surprise at the outburst.

“You thought we what? Finish your sentence” Carmilla waited for a reply as Danny sat back down in the recliner. She was quiet all of the sudden and refused to make any eye contact. It felt like forever before Danny spoke up again.

“Do you think it's possible to have feelings for two people at once?” Carmilla was stunned at the question and didn't even want to think about what that meant. She ignored all the racing thoughts in her head and turned towards Danny, who still wouldn't make eye contact. It would be best right now to try and be as calm and distant as possible.

“Of course, it's in your nature after all. I remember meeting a wolf once that had three boyfriends, she was pretty bad ass.” Danny looked up to her in confusion and Carmilla realized she didn't understand what she was talking about. “I forgot, it doesn't happen as often and has since become taboo. When I was a younger vampire I had a lot of run ins with other supernatural creatures, including werewolves. A lot of the wolves had more than one 'mate' and it was pretty common to see. I guess that just kind of died off with time.” Carmilla finished and had Danny staring at her in surprise. The redhead had never heard about anything like this before and was shocked the vampire knew something she didn't.

“I guess that answers my question.” Immediately after the words had left her mouth Danny started sobbing. She didn't exactly know why she was crying, but after everything that had happened it was inevitable. Carmilla saw what was happening and slowly stood up from her spot on the couch. She moved around to lean slightly over the back of the recliner and placed a hand on Danny's shoulder. Danny flinched a bit at the touch, but Carmilla refused to let that faze her. Her crying had only gotten worse and her breathing was becoming irregular. 

“Danny, you need to calm down a little. You're gonna end up having a panic attack.” Carmilla knew the symptoms of those well since she experienced them fairly often. Danny seemed to start to control her breathing better and Carmilla gave her shoulder a squeeze of encouragement. After another minute or two Carmilla broke the silence.

“Come sit on the couch for awhile. We don't have to talk about this if you don't want to.” Danny stood up and swiped violently at the tears still spilling from her eyes. She had never liked people seeing her be anything less than brave and collected. Carmilla sat down and patted the seat until the other girl hesitantly took the spot next to her. It was strange being on the couch together and not separated for once.

“Sorry, I didn't mean to get all emotional there, it just sort of happened.” Danny sniffled and tried her best to avoid any eye contact. Carmilla stayed silent. Her mind was preoccupied with thoughts of what this conversation was going to lead to. If it led to anything at all. “This year is definitely not going the way I expected it to.” Carmilla let out a quiet chuckle and relaxed back into the couch cushions. This year was probably not going the way most students here expected it would.

“No one's dead yet, so that's a good sign.” Carmilla reasoned. 

“Let's just hope it stays that way until the end of the semester.” Danny answered and leaned back like Carmilla had previously done. The room was silent for a bit except for the ticking of the old grandfather clock. “Um, about what I asked earlier. I just...can we forget I said anything, for now? I know that's kind of a hard request, but I can't work anything out and I'm so confused. Especially if tomorrow we're going into the Summer Society house.” Carmilla nodded and leaned forward so Danny would have to make eye contact with her.

“It's okay, I told you, we don't have to talk about it if you don't want to.” Carmilla smiled, it felt unusual to be having such an intimate conversation with Danny. She stood up from the couch and looked down at the other girl. “I think I'm gonna go to bed. We're gonna have a stressful day tomorrow if Laura's eager attitude is anything to go by.” Danny nodded and slowly stood up too and faced Carmilla.

“Yeah, that sounds like a good idea.” It wasn't until Carmilla was slowly walking out of the room that Danny let out the breathe she was holding. Carmilla threw a 'goodnight' over her shoulder, not stopping her path up the steps. Danny stood in the middle of the room staring at a wall until making her way to bed. For most of the night both of them were tossing and turning in their separate bedrooms.

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The next morning Danny awoke to a loud banging on the door. She rolled over tiredly and looked at the alarm clock on the nightstand. It was already twelve-thirty in the afternoon and Danny realized immediately who was banging on the door. Laura, and possibly her other two friends. Carmilla was probably still asleep in the other room because there was no way she'd be able to hear the knocking. After listening to the sporadic banging for a few more minutes Danny slowly pulled herself up into a sitting position. She didn't sleep with her prosthetics on, it was too uncomfortable. So, she had to take another couple minutes to put them back on and make sure they were secure. When she was sure they were on correctly she made her way down the steps as quick as possible. She didn't bother waking Carmilla up because it sounded like Laura was about to breakdown the door. Once the lock clicked into place she pulled the heavy wood open to reveal Laura with her fist still knocking on air.

“Geez, can I hire you as my alarm clock? I seriously thought you were about to break a window to get in.” Danny teased and Laura put her hand down at her side sheepishly.

“Sorry, I just got out of my class and rushed over here.” Laura looked up at Danny's messy bed head and pajama pants. “Seems like I may have come a bit too early.” Danny shrugged and moved aside so Laura could come inside. 

“It's fine, we didn't get to bed until late so I guess we overslept a bit.” Danny stated, as she closed the door behind the two of them.

“Is it a supernatural thing?” Laura blurted out and Danny just stared at her in amusement. “What I mean is, do you two have to sleep more than humans? Cause that's what happens in the movies.” Danny laughed and shook her head, motioning for Laura to follow her into the kitchen.

“If everything was like the movies then we would have killed you and everybody else on campus already.” Danny joked, even though there was a slight truth to it. Both their kinds could be aggressive and ruthless if threatened. “Also, we told you that there are werewolves and vampires, you saw the library literally disappear. How are you so calm?” As Danny awaited Laura's answer she turned to the coffee pot and filled it with water. The smell of fresh coffee was bound to wake Carmilla up in no time, it never failed.

“I don't know, but I think it has something to do with my overprotective father. I grew up really sheltered and now being here there's so much to experience even though it's sometimes dangerous.” Laura paused and Danny poured the coffee beans into the top of the machine. It started dripping immediately. “Besides, Laf and Perry are being really calm about things, too.” Danny turned back towards Laura.

“Did you tell them about me and Carm?” Laura nodded her head and sat down on a nearby bar stool. The coffee machine was now making quiet gurgling noises. 

“They both took it really well. I mean, Perry doesn't believe me, but Laf was pretty excited. It took me twenty minutes to convince them to not ask you guys for DNA samples.” Laura explained. Danny could hear Carmilla coming down the steps and hoped the girl wasn't too cranky this morning. After last night Danny really had no clue were they stood with each other. “Laf tried to come with me today, but Perry refused to let them come. She's still pretty freaked out from the both of us almost dying.” At the end of Laura's statement Carmilla came strolling into the room, already dressed in a dark outfit. She paused when she noticed Laura, but just shook her head and made her way over to the coffee machine.

“I can't say I'm surprised to see you here, cream-puff.” She said, while digging through the fridge for the opened carton of half and half. Danny tapped her on the shoulder and silently handed her the carton she'd already gotten out. “Thanks, big red.” Danny rolled her eyes and moved over so Carmilla could get to her coffee.

“You're full of unusual nicknames this morning.” Carmilla didn't acknowledge Danny's comment as she poured way to much sugar into her mug. Laura watched on in confusion.

“Does coffee actually wake you up or...?” Laura questioned hesitantly. Carmilla turned to lean her back against the counter with the steaming mug in her hands. 

“It works, but not as much as it does on a normal human. It's the same with Alcohol. A whole bottle of vodka only makes things a bit tipsy and that only last for about an hour.” Carmilla seemed unaffected by the question as she sipped half of her mug down in one gulp. Danny had seen the vampire fully drunk before and it was not a pretty sight. There was a lot of broken bottles and lamps laying around that night. Booze and Carmilla didn't mix well.

“That's crazy, so you two are basically like indestructible, right?” Danny and Carmilla just looked over at each other in entertainment. Danny didn't have any legs and Carmilla's hearing aid were easily noticeable. They were hardly indestructible.

“Is that a serious question?” Carmilla retorted and Laura rolled her eyes in annoyance.

“You know what I mean. I watched you practically throw a book shelf and you can turn into a very dangerous animal.” Laura gestured to the other two girls wildly. Carmilla felt that it was way too early to be dealing with these two. She put her, now empty, mug in the sink and filled it with warm water to soak.

“Well, we should probably get going to the Summer Psychos' house before they all leave for the day. Someone is bound to be there right now.” Danny didn't bother correcting Carmilla and was busy trying to avoid the nerves that just started. It had felt like forever ago that she'd been in the house with Mel and the others. “Why don't you go get changed and then we can go.” Danny nodded, happy that there was a reason for her to be able to get out of the room. She walked out slowly, trying to look as nonchalant as possible. Carmilla turned back towards Laura, who was already looking intimidated at being alone with the vampire.

“You called them Summer 'Psychos'. Do vampires and werewolves not get along or is it just a personal thing?” Laura knew she was being a bit invasive. It was all part of being a journalist, though. Getting the facts was always the right thing to do, even if she couldn't post them online for her fellow classmates.

“It's a personal thing.” Laura waited for more of an explanation, but none came. “You want some coffee?” Carmilla asked, gesturing to the still hot pot behind her. She wanted to try and draw the subject away from all things Summer Society. They basically abandoned Danny when she needed them most and Carmilla didn't appreciate that at all.

“No thanks, if I drink it this late in the day it gives me jitters.” Carmilla nodded as Danny entered back into the kitchen dressed in normal clothes. Laura quickly stood up from her seat and clapped her hands together once in exhilaration. 

“Let's get going, we're loosing daylight!” Before Carmilla could make a remark Laura was already heading for the front door. She turned to Danny in irritation instead.

“Thank God, she didn't want any coffee. Her blood seems to be made out of sugar anyway.” Danny would usually at least smile at Carmilla's jokes, as long as they weren't aimed at her. Now, she just stared at the door Laura had exited through with a anxious expression. “If you don't want to come you don't have to. I know you're freaked out.” Danny just shook her head and started walking to catch up with Laura.

“Let's get this over with.” She said in a shaky voice over her shoulder. The vampires last thought was if she should have another cup of coffee or not. It was going to be a long day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to everyone who is reading, commenting, or leaving kudos! I really appreciate it and I'm having fun writing this story. Another chapter will probably be put up later tonight. This chapter was important, but a bit of a filler.


	10. Secret Agents and Hamsters

Danny was now regretting not texting a Summer Society sister before leaving because no one was answering the door. It was only one-thirty, but apparently the girls had more important things to be doing. The redhead pulled out her phone and sent a text over to Mel explaining why they had to go inside the house. Carmilla noticed what she was doing and leaned against the porch railing, waiting for a reply. There was a key hidden under a nearby plant and Danny figured it was never moved somewhere else. That was their ticket inside. Her phone dinged and Laura scooted over, not being able to resist trying to read the text.

Feel free to go inside, you know where the key is. If you find anything important please text me!

Her emotions towards Mel and the other girls were extremely conflicted right now. On one hand she was happy they still considered her a part of the pack and were friendly towards her. On the other hand they were keeping things from her and she wanted to do the same to them. Danny moved forward to get the key from under the plant, but realized she wouldn't be able to bend that far down. She could feel herself getting embarrassed as she turned towards a confused Laura. 

“Mel said it's fine for us to go in. Could you get the key from under that pot, I can't bend that far or I would do it.” Danny blushed as Laura quickly nodded and made her way over to were Danny was gesturing. Carmilla watched the scene unfold in amusement. Usually, Danny wouldn't ask for help. Which always ended with her falling over or breaking something. In the beginning of their friendship Carmilla had to adjust to not panicking every time Danny took a spill. Things changed over time, though.

“Here, ya go.” Instead of opening the door herself Laura handed the key over to Danny. At least the small human had some self control, Carmilla thought fondly. Danny unlocked the door slowly and let it fall open on it's own. The place was quiet, but that was to be expected since no loud werewolves were home. Carmilla had only been in the Summer Society house a couple of times and it was only because she had helped Danny move. There wasn't a lot of stuff, just enough that Danny couldn't manage it all herself. Of course the other girls offered assistance, but she refused every time.

“Come on, all the files and books are in the basement.” Danny stated as she walked into the house, the other two girls following closely behind her. This was one of the few buildings that actually had a decent basement. It wasn't old and run down like the others. As they reached the basement door Carmilla opened it and flicked on the light switch at the top of the steps.

“This is so exciting, it's like were secret agents.” Laura blurted out and squeezed through so she could be the first one down the steps. Danny and Carmilla just watched her, both with raised eyebrows.

“She reminds me of a hamster.” Carmilla mumbled, while following behind to make sure the girl didn't tumble to her death. The floor was concrete after all. Once they were all at the bottom of the steps they looked around at the well lit basement. There were filing cabinets everywhere, along with various loose papers and books. A few trophies lined the walls and plaques were hung in numerical order. Carmilla scoffed loudly. “This looks like it's straight out of an episode of hoarders.” Danny shook her head and moved to one of the filing cabinets in the right hand corner of the room.

“There's a lot of information down here, but it's organized. This one should have older documents in it. I don't really know exactly what we're looking for, but that picture is black and white. It'd be the best place to start.” She opened the top drawer and pulled out as many files she could hold. Carmilla walked over and helped her take a seat on the floor after grabbing some files of her own. Laura did the same and sat down a few feet away from the other two girls. About an hour into searching they realized how much information there actually was. Every paper and booklet had stuff from winning competition articles to facts about older members. Laura rubbed her eyes and couldn't bare to look at anymore small print. A headache was forming and they were only about three cabinets in.

“This isn't working.” Laura whined, grabbing the attention of the other two girls. Because of their amazing eyesight they were able to work way faster than the small journalist could. “At this rate we could be down here all night.” Carmilla put down the paper she was reading to glare at the girl.

“You wanted to be involved, Nancy Drew. Don't start complaining now.” Laura gave a stern look back, but chose not to comment. Technically, Carmilla was sort of right, even if it was said harshly.

“Your family has been around since forever. Your mom was the dean here at one point. Are you sure you don't remember anything?” Laura pleaded, which only made Carmilla roll her eyes in response. It was Danny who was the one to respond, though.

“Oh my God, your mom!” Startled at the outburst Laura turned to stare at Danny. Carmilla opted to look nervously at the ground instead. “Carm, what happened after your mom....retired?” Danny didn't want to drop the bomb in front of Laura. It wasn't her place to tell Carmilla's past.

“The other vampires took her away somewhere. She was...retired, so I didn't really care what they did with her.” Carmilla paused, as flashbacks ran through her mind. “They still thought of her as a mom.” Instead of explaining herself Danny stood up and began digging through a stack of papers across the room.

“Wait, what do you mean by, 'thought of her as a mom'? I get that she couldn't be your real biological mother, but their were others?” Laura questioned, standing up in the mess of papers scattered around her. “What are you not telling me?” The vampire stood up slowly and let out a loud sigh.

“That doesn't matter anymore, she's dead.” Carmilla stated, while glancing over to Danny who was still digging through papers. Laura stared at her in anger and stepped forward, pointing a finger in her face.

“She's dead? You lied to me, again! How am I suppose to believe anything you say if you're going to keep lying to me!” It was a rhetorical question, but Laura waited for a reply anyway.

“I only lied about her retiring. She really was the dean here, but everything was not what you think it was. She was a vampire too, a bad one.” Carmilla answered, trying to sound distant and unaffected about this. 

“What happened?” Laura immediately questioned.

“Long story short, she got power hungry and I...killed her. The others didn't appreciate that very much.” Carmilla explained as Danny walked back over to them with a piece of paper in her hand. Laura was too busy staring at the vampire in shock to notice the other girl's presence.

“You killed her? This is turning into one of the....” Danny held a paper in front of her face before she could continue her rant. Laura grabbed it and read the first few sentences silently.

“The library was rebuilt over the summer when classes were out. The Summer Society opted to stay and help out with construction.” Laura paused to read more of the essay type paper. “They dug the hole for a basement, but the school board later decided against it. It doesn't say why.” Danny looked up to Carmilla and shrugged her shoulders.

“There was other vampires who followed your mom. What if some of them were on the committee that voted against a basement?” Danny asked.

“What does this have to do with her? She was already gone, there wouldn't be any need for the pit.” Carmilla reasoned, making Danny shake her head.

“I don't know. You can't even see the bottom of that pit out there, it wasn't just dug by some construction workers and Summer Society girls. Someone messed with it!” The conversation was getting heated and Lara stepped between the two girls.

“Both of you need to relax. Arguing isn't going to help us figure out what's going on.” Laura turned towards Danny and gestured the paper at both of them. “The bottom line is, someone left a giant whole beneath the library that caused the building to cave in on itself. Carm, would there be any reason to, I don't know, throw your deceased mom's corpse into the ground?” Laura knew there was a better way to ask, but right now she was coming up blank.

“No, unless the others were doing it to honor her or something, but vampires aren't big on funerals.” Laura looked back down to the paper and thought for a minute.

“What if she wasn't dead? You said she was a bad person so the Summer Society at the time had to know about her. What if they helped with the rebuilding because they knew something was up?” Laura inquired, making Carmilla roll her eyes in irritation.

“I can assure you that she is dead! I put a steak through her heart and watched the light drain from her eyes! She's gone!” Without another word Carmilla stormed up the steps and out of the basement. It was quiet between the other two girls.

“I didn't mean to upset her. I just wanted to know what happened.” Laura muttered and Danny shook her head lightly.

“It's not your fault. It's not really my place to tell you what happened, but the whole experience was really tough on her.” From upstairs they could both hear the front door opening and closing. “Looks like we're not going to get anything else done today. I think we found what we need, even though it's not really clear yet.” Danny stated, as Laura folded up the paper in her hands. Carmilla was probably half way back to the mansion already.

“It's okay, I have another class soon anyway. Um, I should give you my cell number so I can text you if I find anything else out.” Danny agreed and handed her phone over so Laura could add her number in. The only contacts in Danny's phone were Carmilla and a few members from the Summer Society. It felt weird to be adding a new one. When she was finished Laura smiled and handed the phone back over to Danny, who read the saved name.

“Cupcake, nice choice.” Danny just hoped Carmilla didn't see it and end up throwing the phone against the wall. It had happened before.

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When Danny arrived back to the mansion she was surprised to see Carmilla sitting on the porch step. She had offered to walk Laura back to her dorm, but the girl had told her to go comfort the vampire. Carmilla seemed fine, though, as Danny approached her. The girl could usually bounce back quickly if it had anything to do with her mother. Hopefully, Laura wasn't right about Carmilla's mother being anything other than dead. It would be a disaster for all parties involved.

“Hey, fang face.” Carmilla smirked at Danny's greeting and stood from her resting spot. “Why are you sitting outside in the sun? You hate the sun.” It was midday, but the sunlight was still in full affect. The vampire usually avoided it like the plague if she could.

“I realized when I got back here that you had the keys. I was debating on breaking a window, but I don't think you would've appreciated that. You're welcome.” Carmilla snarked, as Danny reached into her back pocket for the key to the front door. While Danny made her way up the steps Carmilla decided she wasn't done with the teasing. “So, how was your date with Laura?” Danny rolled her eyes and didn't bother turning around from unlocking the door.

“I told you to stop saying that.” It wasn't that she was trying to get on Danny's nerves, sometimes it just happened. As they walked into the house Carmilla closed the door behind them and locked it. It was only a matter of time before someone else came to bang on their door. She smiled mischievously at an already angry looking Danny.

“What? She's a cutie.” Before Carmilla could even see Danny's facial expression she was being shoved against the back of the door. The werewolf was looking at her with a tense look and had her shoulders pinned to the wood panels. Their faces were close, but the height difference made Carmilla have to look up slightly. “Someone's being handsy today.” The comment seemed to snap Danny out of whatever daze she was in as she dropped her arms to her sides. Carmilla kept the smile on her face the whole time.

“Sorry, I just got angry and lost control there for a second. I don't know what's going on with me lately.” Danny was starting to get upset and Carmilla sighed in annoyance. The girl was going to drive her insane with all these mood swings.

“It's fine, you didn't hurt me. You don't have to be so emotionally conflicted all the time. Just do what feels right.” Without waiting for a response Carmilla made her way into the living room to sit on the couch. She actually didn't know a hundred percent what Danny was feeling because the girl was still somewhat of a mystery to her. The vampire had enough trouble trying to figure out her own emotions most of the time. As she picked up the TV remote Danny made her way into the room and stood by the couch. Carmilla waited for her to sit down, but looked up in confusion when the girl stayed unmoving. “You're creeping me out. What are you doing, Xena?” Danny just sighed in response.

“I'm doing what feels right.” Carmilla didn't have the chance to ask what that meant as Danny swooped down and kissed her. The angle was a bit awkward, but neither of the girls seemed to notice or care. Once the shock wore off Carmilla kissed back greedily and reached out to hold Danny in place. It was gentle and there was a lot of emotions swirling around behind the gesture of affection. Time seemed to stop momentarily for the both of them. Carmilla decided kissing Danny felt like the best thing ever so when the other girl started to lean away she tried to follow her lips. It didn't work until Carmilla stood up to wrap her arms around Danny's neck. She leaned in to kiss her again and Danny pulled back slightly. “Carm, wait.” The vampire made an irritated expression, but held off. “I don't really know what this means and I hope that it will....” Carmilla shut her up with a kiss and pulled back for a split second.

“You're thinking to much. Just feel for now.” Danny nodded at Carmilla's words and leaned in to connected their lips again. She placed her hands on the vampire's waist and tried to pull them closer together then they already were. Carmilla took the hint and tightened her old on the other girl's neck. Much to Carmilla's annoyance Danny pulled back once again.

“Could we both sleep in the living room tonight, please.” It was weird to hear Danny be so unsure of herself. Carmilla nodded immediately and Danny sighed in relief. They could worry about things in the morning, tonight it was just them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took longer than expected for some odd reason. Anyway, yay they kissed!


End file.
